Guild Wars 2

Community, write your solutions here. This way anet doesn’t even have to come up with the ideas.

Sell the extension at 30 for veterans players (i.e, those with an account) and/or add a character slot in the basic edition. Otherwise, players like me who have the game since launch but never managed to get much gold (because I loath the way to get some easily in game) will have to pay an extra-addition to have a Revenant. it’s insane.

Edit : oh, and when LS3 will come out, let people without HoT having it for their account without being able to play it without the expansion. Otherwise, I won’t have any reason to connect to the game until the price suit me.

Solutions:

1) Every expansion package, including the $50 option comes with at least 1 character slot.
2) Every preexisting account that upgrades to the expansion is given a key code for an additional copy of the base standalone game.

Do these two things, and see some balance restored.

Let us use the “free” extra copy of the base game to do with as we please (give to friends or use ourselves), or give us a character slot. Or HoT is slightly cheaper.

It’s like they went out of their way to choose the worst option and give us the middle finger -_-

Firebaall.5127:

Solutions:

1) Every expansion package, including the $50 option comes with at least 1 character slot.
2) Every preexisting account that upgrades to the expansion is given a key code for an additional copy of the base standalone game.

I agree with this, but I don’t think they will do it… at least not number 2, because they probably want to eliminate new purchases of the old SKU associated with the base game (ie. they don’t want to create new keys for the base game anymore).

10 off or character slot. One of the two.

I pay the $50 with no complains if they give me an additional character slot, because I know they will deliver a lot of content in time. I just don’t care about a free core game copy.

Add another Package. You could have 4 packages then.

1)New Player. Buy the Original Guild Wars 2 + HoT ($50)
2)Upgrade your account. 2 additional character slots, 1 bank slot + HoT ($50)
3)Deluxe. 3 char slots, 2 bank slots, mini, Rev finisher, GH decoration, Glider skin ($75)
4)Ultimate. 3 char slots, 2 bank slots, 4k gems, mini, Rev finisher, GH decoration, Glider skin ($100)

It’s not about the price, it’s about the perceived value that veterans feel like they’re getting versus a new player.

Either:

- Existing Players get extra character slots where new players get the core game for free

or

- Make core game and expansion have separate redemption codes so existing players have an extra code for the core game to do with as they please.

Firebaall.5127:

Solutions:

1) Every expansion package, including the $50 option comes with at least 1 character slot.
2) Every preexisting account that upgrades to the expansion is given a key code for an additional copy of the base standalone game.

Do these two things, and see some balance restored.

Throw in a bundle of extra 1600 gems for anyone who links the expansion to existing GW2 account, and it would start making more sense. If someone wanted character slots, they could have two – which would be similar to how GW1 handled additional campaigns (and which have been cited several times in other threads). If someone wanted character slot and bank tab, they could have it. If someone didn’t need character slot, they could have two bank tabs and change. If someone needed neither, they could save the gems and get something later.

This would be easy to implement retroactively, and would be pretty much equal value for anyone regardless of what they already had or didn’t have. It wouldn’t impact the sales of expansions negatively, it wouldn’t make it any more difficult for new players to get into the game, and people who already have an account wouldn’t feel like they were completely left out. People who bought GW2 from discount a while ago might actually feel lucky.

I have 8 character slots, I have no need for more. I have no need for an extra account either. Also some people have already bought the ‘higher tier’ expansion options because they wanted the character slot too.. if you now added character slot to base package, they’d be screwed over. But I don’t think anyone who bought the ‘ultimate’ edition to get the 4000 gems would feel cheated if they got 1600 more on top of it (if linking to existing account).

I’d rather simply have an option to buy ‘expansion only’ for cheaper, but at this point that would get way too messy – switching options back and forth would create huge potential for scenarios where people would feel cheated one way or the other, and you can’t go on refunding EVERYONE.

1. Make it standalone like the original stance of Anet on the issue of “Can I play HoT without GW2”.

This was issue number one with the playerbase as they felt cheated to be asked to pay for what includes all these benefits for new players that veterans just don’t get despite their loyalty to GW2. Thus they feel they are paying for something they don’t need and there is no option to cut that payment away from the pure expansion.

2. Bundle a character slot with the basic pack:

Everyone wants to make a revenant, it is a main selling point. However for a veteran who has filled their character slots, they will have to either get a character slot in-game and purchase the basic expansion, or purchase the £60 expansion (€80, $90). Again it is people who are the current player base who will be irritated at that.

3. Don’t ignore the forums

I get that it can get toxic and that it is something most Anet staff would love to avoid on a daily basis, but half the reason so many people get more and more angry is because Anet staff tend to either ignore the issue or keep their involvement to merging the thread to die in it’s own corner despite thousands of replies. This makes the player base feel ignored and pushed aside, thus they complain more. Customer services Anet, come on.

4. Change business strategy somewhat

The “no sub” model works it seems, gems support quite a lot and people buy them often. This does not warrant seemingly desperate player grabs at the cost of the current player base. One of the main reasons other MMO’s rise and fall is how they interact with their own player base.