Guild Wars 2

having just watched the announcement, i went to look at the pre-purchase options. however, all three options seem to be GW2, HoT and then various extras based on version.

so I was wondering. for those of us who already have GW2, is there – or will there be – an option to just buy Heart of Thorns?

http://buy.guildwars2.com/store/gw2/en_US/html/pbPage.heartofthorns?_ga=1.95486485.888080238.1391566006

It looks like the answer will be “no”, but I’ve been wrong before.

I think with the way us law works the answer will be “yes” . Don’t prepurchase it, wait things out. They are testing the waters.

So if any of you have been to the pre-purchase page you might have noticed that the base game is included in every version of HoT. So, do we get a key for both the base game and HoT, so I can use the base game key I am purchasing as an extra account and the HoT key on my main?

Also, we could use some better videos/pictures of the bonus items so we can decide if it is worth our money.

I’m a little confused about how pre-ordering the expansion online works when applied to a pre-existing account vs. pre-ordering the expansion at a retail location.

From what I understand, if I pre-order in game right now online, a pre-order serial will be applied to my account and I’ll be able to download the content once it becomes available.

However, if I wait until the 23rd to pre-order at a retail store, when the game comes out I’ll receive… (from what I understand,) a serial for the base copy of the game, and a serial for the expansion?

If what I understand is correct, I’ll be getting more value by waiting for a retail version because I could (potentially,) give away my extra base copy serial that comes with the expansion, (Currently a $40 value,) and keep the code for the expansion for myself?

If this is the case, I feel like pre-ordering right now online might not be the best choice for folks with pre-existing accounts that they hope to upgrade, unless there’s some extra incentive for doing so other than receiving potential Deluxe / Ultimate perks a week or so early.

I mean, we’ve been customers and players since before the XPac was even announced. Can we veteran players get a little love from you, ANet? I mean, I’m not asking you bump us up to Premium HoT Pre-Order or anything [won’t complain, of course]. Just give us something that doesn’t make us feel completely screwed over by HoT’s price. It can be something in-game, just a little bonus. An item, a skin, nothing costly.

And I don’t like whining about things or victimization, but I just feel irked by the free bonus of the core game for new players.

Some people have been thinking capes?

Any opinion on this?

Greetings everyone,

A lot of people are angry, appearantly so from the high number of threads on the forum and guild wars 2 subreddit.

kitten many have pointed out, the rage is because of the price of the expansion and the addition of the core game for new players while the existing players get to buy the expansion and core game again.

I propose not one but two possible fixes for this community splitting problem!

First of all, someone from the company should openly apologise for the decision of the price and show some goodwill by presenting one of the options below:

Option 1: Keep the price at 50 dollars and 45 euros but give existing players a character slot and a bank tab.

Option 2: Lower the price of the expansion for existing players to 40 dollars and 35 euros.

I think option 1 is so much better for Arenanet. The current price stays the same and they only have to give a character slot and a bank tab, not tinker with any money related shenanigans.

I personally prefer option 2 because I’m a college student and money doesn’t exactly grow on trees.

Just my 2 cents

kittened off gw1 + gw2 veteran out

kitten the expansion, SAB is better

Does that mean that once the pre-order is over, new players would have to buy the core game AND HoT at their original prices?

If so, all arguments about the price including the core game now are invalid.

No, you’re gonna get the core game no matter when you buy it with the way it’s worded. The actual pre-purchase bonuses are the special title and beta access.

From the FAQ:
What are the benefits of making a pre-purchase?

Everyone who pre-purchases Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns (whether via buy.guildwars2.com, official retail partners, or in-game) will receive access to all Beta Weekend Events and the exclusive in-game title “Maguuma Trailblazer.” The pre-purchase bonuses and all other digital items from your purchase will be delivered in-game within 3-4 hours of redeeming your serial code.

But do we know for sure that the current prices will stay after HoT launches? Or will they add, say, $20 for the core game on top?

GuzziHero.2467:

But do we know for sure that the current prices will stay after HoT launches? Or will they add, say, $20 for the core game on top?

lol

upsdn.5426:

GuzziHero.2467:

But do we know for sure that the current prices will stay after HoT launches? Or will they add, say, $20 for the core game on top?

lol

Backatcha, bub. We don’t know, that’s what I am saying.

I’m never pre-purchase a game before so I dont know how this work,if anny one could help my with this I would be relly happy

If i pre-purchase HoT from http://buy.guildwars2.com/store/gw2/en_IE/html/pbPage.heartofthorns?cid=90:5::::eu:6
will I get game box with standard purchase or onli a promo code to unlock game for my acc?

andreic.4679:

I’m never pre-purchase a game before so I dont know how this work,if anny one could help my with this I would be relly happy

If i pre-purchase HoT from http://buy.guildwars2.com/store/gw2/en_IE/html/pbPage.heartofthorns?cid=90:5::::eu:6
will I get game box with standard purchase or onli a promo code to unlock game for my acc?

The purchase is digital, so no boxes… retail pre-purchases will probably become available at some point if that is what you prefer.

You (pre-)purchase the expansion you get a serial that can be used either to create a new account that has access to both GW2 as it is now and HoT when it launches or used to upgrade you existing account through the link below so your current account will have access to heart of thorns when it launches.

https://register.arena.net/content/code

Crise.9401:

andreic.4679:

I’m never pre-purchase a game before so I dont know how this work,if anny one could help my with this I would be relly happy

If i pre-purchase HoT from http://buy.guildwars2.com/store/gw2/en_IE/html/pbPage.heartofthorns?cid=90:5::::eu:6
will I get game box with standard purchase or onli a promo code to unlock game for my acc?

The purchase is digital, so no boxes… retail pre-purchases will probably become available at some point if that is what you prefer.

You (pre-)purchase the expansion you get a serial that can be used either to create a new account that has access to both GW2 as it is now and HoT when it launches or used to upgrade you existing account through the link below so your current account will have access to heart of thorns when it launches.

https://register.arena.net/content/code

Tnx m8

How long will the pre-purchase be available?

Until the official release happens. I would guess 3 to 4 months. There could also be an internal cap for pre-purchases like 1 or 2 million copies.

Will i be able to play the core game just after the pre order or i have to wait for HoT to play?

Probably until release. There are speculations that release is planned for august (on game’s anniversary).

Even while I’d prefer if it came with a character slot at least, I’d like to pre-purchase HoT, and I’d really like to do it directly trough anet, but because some legal chances to currency exchange here in Venezuela that took place about a couple months ago I can’t purchase anything outside of the country on the internet (basically they made a new law that blocked any credit card from being used abroad except the ones issued by a government owned bank, which I already have, but they haven’t activated the system to migrate from a private bank to a public one).

Foreseeing they might do something like that I charged enough money to my amazon account as gift cards (most people here do it so you could combine the yearly maximum purchase allowance of several people), so I do have the money saved up for HoT but on amazon.

Which is why I’m asking this, if there’s any information about future availability of HoT pre-purchase (or pre-order or purchase) trough amazon.com.

Is the base game a bonus ONLY for PRE-purchase or it will stay even after HoT launches?

I’ve been playing GW2 since the early access days, and I must admit, I was a little surprised that the standard edition of HoT does not include a character slot. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter.

From what I saw in the posts surrounding in this topic, the major upsets can be separated into two categories.

1) 50$ is too expensive, we don’t have know how big HoT is and it might not be worth the money

2) Everyone pays the same price for HoT, but new players gets the core game as something extra. So veterans are getting the short end of the deal.

Now for upset #1, it is indeed hard to judge the size of the expac right now. Arenanet has not provided a detailed feature list of HoT yet, so naturally people just guesstimate the size of Hot based existing shown features. It could be that they’ve already shown a majority of the content, but it is more likely that they are only giving us a taste of the features to come. After all, it wouldn’t make sense for them to reveal everything right now, or there wouldn’t be any new and fresh feeling when people log into HoT for the first time. So I wouldn’t jump to conclusions and say things like “HoT only has 1 map with 3 biomeswhich is wayyyy to small for a 50% expac”.
Therefore, if your main concern is the about the price and HoT content size. I would suggest you wait a while until they reveal more HoT features before making a decision. There is no hurry in pre-purchasing the game since no Beta has been announced yet.

Now for upset #2, which seems to be the majority of the complain. Many veterans feels like since the core game is worth at least 10$, so if HoT bundles everything together, there should be some rewards for veterans that accounts for the 10$ worth of lost value. This feeling of left behind is strengthen when many people had spent real money on gems over the last couple years, and they feel that the expac will never be possible if it were not for them sustaining Arenanet.
However, people needs to realize that Arenanet did not just sell you the game 3 years ago and went on vacation while collecting the money form gem sales. There were constant FREE content updates over the years, which the gem sales paid for. So don’t feel like you paid for the development of HoT and expect a discount as result of that. In addition, you also did get something extra for spending real money, either in the form of exchanging gem for gold, or make your character stand out and show off that brand new shiny weapon skin which few people have. It’s not like you donated the money and nothing came out of it.

Let me give you another example on upset #2. Imaging you bought a car 3 year ago at full price. You’ve enjoyed driving it and even gave the company more money by purchasing services such as changing oil at dealers. Without you and all the buyers that bought the card, the dealer/company would have closed down long ago. Now 3 years later, a new car is coming out. It is based on the old car design, they’ve upgraded the engine so that it is faster, more fuel efficient, and plenty of new features such as standard backup camera. The price for the new car is around the same price that you’ve paid for the old car 3 years ago, but new buyers will basically get your car plus additional features for the same price. On the other hand, you as an old customer can either buy the new car as a whole, which is built upon your old car, or not buy it at all and not get the new features. In this situation, I don’t think anyone one will go up to the dealer and say something like “hey, I want the upgraded engine, can you only sell me the engine at a reduced price?” or “I bought a car 3 years ago from you, can you sell me the new car minus the current cost of my old car?” . Nobody will do that because it doesn’t make any sense. You’ve already got the enjoyment of the price you paid, you got the extra services by paying more money. So dealers don’t owe you anything when new things come out. They might give you some incentive into buying the new stuff by offering a small discount, but they may not and you can’t force them.

TLDR – I think if you feel like the expac isn’t what you’ve expected, then hold off on the pre-purchase until later. Don’t be another “me too” person, and expect to have everything other people are getting. You’ve paid for the base game, you got it, Arenanet doesn’t owe you anything.

Ps. getting new players into the game isn’t a bad move anyways. The game will grow and better content will come as a result.

Clearly, many of us need some time to think about this purchasing decision.
But how long do we have to think about it?
When’s the end date on pre purchase and/or the first included beta date?

(THIS THREAD IS NOT FOR DICUSSION OF PRICE OR NEW VS VET!!!)

edit: Also, fyi, pre-purchase page is working again

try checking permissions or maybe trying again in a few mins, might be really busy

EDIT – just checked, buy.guildwars2.com works fine for me

And what are you afraid of? You are paying full price as it is, you are not getting any bonuses. At the “worst” case scenario, if ultimate and deluxe are limited, you will be stuck with the standard package, whose price will only go lower.

RabbitUp.8294:

And what are you afraid of? You are paying full price as it is, you are not getting any bonuses. At the “worst” case scenario, if ultimate and deluxe are limited, you will be stuck with the standard package, whose price will only go lower.

1. I’m just straight up undecided on purchasing at all. See other threads for details, I clearly stated I’m not getting into this in this thread.
2. I’m in a financial bind, and can only afford standard in a pinch “today” but a week it wouldn’t be as tight or two maybe I could get deluxe or in a month or so I may be able to afford ultimate;

So, at the end of the day how much time do I have to save $?

I can’t be the only person wondering, can I?

I could upgrade to deluxe later, but it was made clear one cannot upgrade to ultimate. So act now during pre purchase !double thumbs up and cheesy smile.

Will there be a headstart period for pre-purchasers?

You are already invited to all the betas not sure if that counts?

I do plan on getting heart of thorns so long as the size of the expansion ends up justifying its price. So don’t assume this is a “TOO EXPENSIVE” thread; it’s not. I just wanted to let Anet know that even with the email, I don’t want to pre-purchase until I am shown the exact size of the expansion (in terms of zones, zone sizes, things for me to do, in essence if the expansion will offer as much content as the original or close to it since it costs the same) and until I know when it comes out. Please release these details soon, and I will show my support for the game with my wallet should the details reveal the game to be what I would expect.

If you want to know what EXACTLY comes with this expansion I’d say only way to do that is wait till it is released. They have been showing things off to us and the next couple days will be about Guild Halls. From reading those blogs, Guild Halls in itself sounds like a while new game mode to me. For some people the stuff that we do know is coming was enough for them to pre-order. For others it is not enough. They still need to reveal the other professions specialization so its not like they have showed everything off yet. If you watched a few of the streams they sometimes say things like “we can not talk about this yet” and that leaves me to think they have more stuff to show us but it is just not ready to be shared yet.

I agree with briggah but I just want to point out that HoT is more of a feature based xpac as anet just found out how they wanna do things and not so much content, dont get me wrong it will have enough content to satisfy most for a while. People are just underestimating how much time they will actually spend playing it.

HoangAn.2085:

You are already invited to all the betas not sure if that counts?

That’s different. BWEs are just for testing. When GW2 first launched we had a 3-day headstart (anticipated access) for pre-purchasers, and I’m wondering if this may be the case for HoT too.

The GW2 pre-orders specified a headstart whereas the HoT pre-purchase makes no mention of it so I’m guessing there isn’t one currently planned.

Hi all,

I’m considering doing the pre-order next month.

What are the benefits of doing the pre-order versus waiting for the release, other than the access to the beta weekends?

I like MMO’s and I’m attracted to GW2 because there aren’t any subscription fees.

Wait until release. We haven’t been told even when the game will be released, we haven’t been told how much content the expansion will have (looks like it will have only a few maps), and if the expansion adds a massive amount of bugs, you can just wait it out.

I suggest trying the Steam Sale if you are looking for something to play while you wait. There you will get a far better value for your money.

Braxton.3926:

Hi all,

I’m considering doing the pre-order next month.

What are the benefits of doing the pre-order versus waiting for the release, other than the access to the beta weekends?

That and a title. And the betas from now on will likely be open ones anyway.

There is nothing in it for me, so I’m waiting to see what happens when it’s releases. Plenty to occupy me in GW2 and elsewhere until then.

Whenever “then” is.

If you know you gonna play the expansion from day 1 no matter what, then just pre-order since you will get access to beta-weekends.

If you, like some others, are not that interested in what has been announced and would like to decide after having a better picture of all the content that is going to be included, then wait it out.

I will postpone my purchase until the release date is known. And this whole current discussion is resolved one way or the other.

(One way being the whole storm dying down, the other being ArenaNet giving an official response.)

If you had fun with the game already and you are sure that 50$ will bring you hundreds of hours of fun, go ahead and preorder.

It’s not about what you get, it’s about what you will get in the future.

Entenkommando.5208:

If you had fun with the game already and you are sure that 50$ will bring you hundreds of hours of fun, go ahead and preorder.

It’s not about what you get, it’s about what you will get in the future.

How can we be sure though? They have released so little info on what content we are getting, that you are gambling at this point in time.

Waiting till nearer release loses you nothing, other than guaranteed beta access. If they eventually reveal tons of content and zones, which I hope happens, grab it then and you can be satisfied you’ll get value for money.

MashMash.1645:

Entenkommando.5208:

If you had fun with the game already and you are sure that 50$ will bring you hundreds of hours of fun, go ahead and preorder.

It’s not about what you get, it’s about what you will get in the future.

How can we be sure though? They have released so little info on what content we are getting, that you are gambling at this point in time.

Waiting till nearer release loses you nothing, other than guaranteed beta access. If they eventually reveal tons of content and zones, which I hope happens, grab it then and you can be satisfied you’ll get value for money.

Of course you don’t lose anything when waiting.
But you can also show A-Net that you trust them and that you had so much fun in the first game that you willingly pay the money because the time-price-ratio was more than superb.

The question shouldn’t be if there is a reason to trust them, but rather if there is a reason not to trust them if you look in the past.

I would wait.
$50. For what?

Hi,

I have a question regarding Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Q: I have Guild Wars 2 Digital Deluxe Edition, why would it be advantageous for me to get the Ultimate or Deluxe versions of Heart of Thorns as most of the bonuses were with the original Guild Wars 2?

Thanks

Let me say first – I am a fan of the game, and I want to see it do well. So this marketing mistake hurts me. I don’t want my favorite game to go under..

So here is what you do..

Step 1. Give all the people who have purchased the standard game some amount of gems/slots etc.
Step 2. Release a cheaper version of the game that’s upgrade only

In this way you soothe the ire of the early adopters – these are the most loyal advocates of the game. It costs more but you get beta, slots, gems etc. And you give the remaining fans a choice – buy now and get beta and some free stuff. Or wait and buy later..

You should NEVER pre-order any game again. Gaming companies have abused this over and over and over. You pre-order a game to get a few special items, then end up with an unfinished piece of crap. It’s always best to wait for some reviews on Youtube.

This If they did either of those 2 things most people (me included) would calm down but until they do I will continue to not pre-order and I will continue to voice my reasoning on these forums