Guild Wars 2

Ok I’ve been having this debate on whether I should pre-purchase Heart of Thorns in- game.
I’m really excited for it, and I find access to another character slot as well as beta weekends, but the expansion is $50 and there’s a chance that it will lower once it fully comes out.
And I’ve been hearing about some problems of players getting robbed of their money from the transactions refusing to process.

Is pre-purchasing HoT right away a good idea or not?
Please let me know as soon as you can. It could save me alot of money.

If you want to.play beta weekends and want a “free” character slot then go for it. If not then there is no as you’ll be able to get everything that is on offer now after launch, minus the Maguma Trailblazer title.

And yes, if you wait till launch, you’ll probably be able to pick I up cheaper.

If you’re 100% sure that you’re going to play HoT then yes it’s worth pre-purchasing.
If you’re not 100% sure that you’re going to play HoT then I’d wait.

It’s as simple as that.

good luck

AESOkami.1072:

Is pre-purchasing HoT right away a good idea or not?
Please let me know as soon as you can. It could save me alot of money.

LOL, no.

Wait a few months and you’ll be able to buy it at a discount, as soon as the bad reviews start pouring in.

There is little to no advantage of prepurchasing. Access to Beta Weekend Events? We have no idea how many of those will be, as far as we know there could be only one more. Extra character slot? Those will likely go on sale soon after HoT releases as well.

Save your money. This isn’t going anywhere but down.

Depends on what you value and for how much. Each of us can only answer for ourselves.

For me.
Am I going to be playing the expansion? Yes
Will I be using the character slot(s)? Yes
If I get the $100 version, will I be using the gems? Yes
Can I recoup $50 of the cost of the expansion by not buying gems with real money for a couple of months? Yes.

So for me, since I will be playing the expansion and will need the character slots and can get some of the money back by not buying gems for a while, the $100 version was the best value currently available.

For you, do you plan to play the expansion? Do you need at least one character slot? Would you prefer to wait till after the expansion and hope for a few dollars off? A price drop is something that might not happen for several months, and you will still need to buy a character slot separately so that cost will need to be factored in. Will the money you save by waiting for a price drop be worth sitting out the launch of the expansion and missing the initial play through of the new maps as well as not advancing any mastery lines?

it all depends on what is the most important features to you.

One thing about being there at launch (or close to it) is that some content is easier to group up for. At least, for me, it is. You don’t have to worry about being ‘good’ enough for the new content, as no one is yet super familiar with it, and there are lots of groups being formed that accept anyone. This becomes a bit more difficult as time passes, and groups want more ‘experienced and knowledgeable’ players.

Also, if you like the excitement/chaos/etc. of a large population exploring new maps, that may be less evident after a some amount of time (weeks/months?). If you were around during the bi-weekly releases or launch, you may understand what I mean.

On the other hand, you may be able to get a discounted price from retailers, or after several months, from ArenaNet. Do be aware, the FAQ seems to indicate that the pre-purchase bonus character slots will not be available after launch.

Good luck on your decision.

Test.8734:

AESOkami.1072:

Is pre-purchasing HoT right away a good idea or not?
Please let me know as soon as you can. It could save me alot of money.

LOL, no.

Wait a few months and you’ll be able to buy it at a discount, as soon as the bad reviews start pouring in.

Save your money. This isn’t going anywhere but down.

You know, you could put them psychic powers of yours to better use. Like predicting natural disasters, or maybe telling me what tonight’s lotto numbers will be.

I mean, of course there’ll be some bad reviews – like most games – and no doubt the price will drop in the future – like most games. But until we know the entirety of the expansion and how well things are implemented, it’s a bit premature to go spouting off about how the expansion is going to suck.

OP:

Only you can really decide that.

Is the character slot, title and beta access worth taking the risk that the expansion may not contain much of the content you enjoy?

Personally I’m waiting until I know the full contents of the expansion.

TheDaiBish.9735:

Test.8734:

AESOkami.1072:

Is pre-purchasing HoT right away a good idea or not?
Please let me know as soon as you can. It could save me alot of money.

LOL, no.

Wait a few months and you’ll be able to buy it at a discount, as soon as the bad reviews start pouring in.

Save your money. This isn’t going anywhere but down.

You know, you could put them psychic powers of yours to better use. Like predicting natural disasters, or maybe telling me what tonight’s lotto numbers will be.

I mean, of course there’ll be some bad reviews – like most games – and no doubt the price will drop in the future – like most games. But until we know the entirety of the expansion and how well things are implemented, it’s a bit premature to go spouting off about how the expansion is going to suck.

---

OP:

Only you can really decide that.

Is the character slot, title and beta access worth taking the risk that the expansion may not contain much of the content you enjoy?

Personally I’m waiting until I know the full contents of the expansion.

I’m with Bish and waiting. What are we getting exactly? They can have my money when I know what I am getting.

It was worth it to me to buy the Ultimate Edition. I needed the two slots for my 2 revenants, because my other 17 slots are occupied by level 80’s. Confessions of an Altoholic

Do you plan on playing HoT at release and only want to purchase the game through ArenaNet? If so, pre-purchase it. The price of the game through ArenaNet will not change for several months post launch.

If you don’t care who you pre-purchase from, it would still be best to pre-purchase it, but from one of the other vendors that’s offering a discount. One will pop up every so often.

If you just want to eventually buy HoT one day, you’ll need to wait about 6 months before it’s cheaper than what you can currently find. With some places already offering $5-10 off, plus the $10 character slot, it’ll be a long time before you see a $20+ sale (assuming of course you see value in a character slot).

AESOkami.1072:

And I’ve been hearing about some problems of players getting robbed of their money from the transactions refusing to process.

They don’t take your money until the transaction is complete.

One problem that can occur is an automatic refund caused by your bank. If you purchase the game through ArenaNet and your bank refunds it, your account will be banned. To avoid that, simply buy HoT through the website and wait a few business days before using the serial key.

I wanted beta weekend to input my thoughts on revenant and dragonhunter so I got it. I’ll play it no matter what so didn’t hurt

Whether something is worth it or not is subjective in the end. Other people can provide information and various arguments but you are the only one who can make that decision for you.

For me? The answer is no still. I want more information before I give ANet another dime. But for others, apparently, the answer’s been an astonishing yes.

Again, the reasons vary, but as other said indirectly, ’It’s your money and your decision."

But I’m not seeing any grand incentive to pre-purchase the expansion outside some fluff items and title . . . not yet anyway.

Otherwise, I must agree with Test. It doesn’t take psychic powers to know this isn’t going to end well given ANet’s recent and past missteps. A little insight and common sense tells us that much.

Of course, the commentary from the beta kinda helps too. . . .

As other people have said there isn’t a universal answer, it’s different for everyone.

I decided pre-purchasing was worth it for me. I was virtually certain I wanted HoT and had a hard time imagining anything that would put me off, it was a convenient time for me to buy it (not when it first came out, but a week or so later) and since I buy gems periodically anyway buying the Ultimate Edition was like getting my next 4-6 months of gems in one go for £42.50 and then getting the Deluxe Edition for £37.50 which is about what I’d decided I’d be willing to pay for it.

But even so I completely agree that for other people it’s not worth it. If you’re not sure you want HoT it’s better to wait. The only things you’ll miss out on are access to the betas and (if you wait until after release) a title.

Guys people are mentioning character slots, do I get an extra slot for buying the standard edition? I pre-purchased it today but got no extra slot, just the extra beta slots. Does it come later in the mail?

Eremoo.2785:

Guys people are mentioning character slots, do I get an extra slot for buying the standard edition? I pre-purchased it today but got no extra slot, just the extra beta slots. Does it come later in the mail?

Yes, it comes later. Not in the mail though. It just appears on your character line up. They send them out once a week, it may be Friday.

If you’re going to buy it anyway, there is no reason not to prepurchase it – doing so now will get you the free character slot. If you wait until HoT launch you will most likely not get the character slot.

If you’re waiting for a sale or for it to get cheaper, it’s not likely to go on sale until quite a while after launch. In the mean time you’ll be missing a lot of the content that those who buy the expansion will be getting.

In the end though, it’s up for you to decide if it’s worth it or not.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Eremoo.2785:

Guys people are mentioning character slots, do I get an extra slot for buying the standard edition? I pre-purchased it today but got no extra slot, just the extra beta slots. Does it come later in the mail?

Yes, it comes later. Not in the mail though. It just appears on your character line up. They send them out once a week, it may be Friday.

Ah ok that’s awesome thanks

Give us money with any sort of confirmation for the release date while your at it we won’t add any content for the entire summer then expect you to spend all your money on our anniversary sales which will also lack content to do. Not about rewarding your dedicated play over 1-three years or anything its about getting us more money.

This whole thing feels like more of a kickstarter campaign than an actual reorder do we even know how far along the game is or whether it will launch this year!? Sure they could launch it late Oct, Nov or in December but no amount of marketing or showcasing is going to penetrate the highest shopping days of the year. MMO’s don’t release during this time because it’s a death trap. The marketting won’t penetrate and gamers will be loading up on new games and merchandise. If it’s not out buy Oct it’s simply smarter to wait till January. It’s late August so September is out since we don’t even have a release date. So that leaves early Oct which also seems out of the question considering we still have elite spec reveals and more beta weekends.

So no it’s not worth preordering anything unless you have a release date and if you want to pre order without a release date then that sounds more like funding a kickstarter campaign for an early copy than a standard pre.

Answer: It depends if on what kind of guild you are in.

If you are in a competitive, hard core guild, ask the leader(s) if the guild will be delving into HoT content as soon as the xpac releases. If you are told yes, pre-purchase a copy of the expansion ASAP.

If you are in a roleplaying guild, find out if HoT is relevant to the guild’s storyline. Also ask if the guild has plans for HoT. On the NA megaserver, the only RP guilds I’ve seen with Pre-HoT storylines are all of the pact guilds, a couple Sylvari guilds, two multi-racial crusader-style guilds, and an Inquest guild.

I’m not sure about the status of the human and Charr RP guilds. Most human and charr groups tend to have their stories focus on Divinity’s Reach, Lion’s Arch, Ebonhawke, and Ascalon. Mordremoth is the furthest from their mind. (Shocking, huh?)

Most RP guilds on the EU megaserver haven’t expressed plans on using the HoT content in their storylines. I’m basing that off of the storylines I’ve seen coming from the community since HoT was announced last January. I could be wrong tho. If you are in an European RP guild, it doesn’t hurt to ask the leader(s) about the guild’s plans and if you should pre-purchase HoT.

Most casual and social guilds allow their players to take their time with the game. Some groups plan to avoid the crowd on launch day. There is a good chance you won’t need to pre-purchase HoT if your in one of the laid-back guilds.

So there you have it! If your guild isn’t doing anything with HoT right away, you can wait until after release to purchase the xpac. If not, then it would be wise to pre-purchase in order to get access to the new content on launch day.

I truly believe the “Pre-Purchase” idea has run its coarse and players should not fall in to this idea of marketing. Im not saying the GW2 expansion isnt worth it or isnt going to be good, i just believe people shouldnt pay for something that doesnt exist in the players hands yet.

Depends, it wont be cheaper till HoT comes out so do you want to play from start or could you wait till some sale while other players are already playing HoT?

My thing was like; I really enjoy the game and I already play for 3 years without spending more money into the game than buying the core game, I was sure about playing HoT and then finally I bought it when I heard about betas. To play revenant so I can continue playing my main when it launches.

AESOkami.1072:

Ok I’ve been having this debate on whether I should pre-purchase Heart of Thorns in- game.
I’m really excited for it, and I find access to another character slot as well as beta weekends, but the expansion is $50 and there’s a chance that it will lower once it fully comes out.
And I’ve been hearing about some problems of players getting robbed of their money from the transactions refusing to process.

Is pre-purchasing HoT right away a good idea or not?
Please let me know as soon as you can. It could save me alot of money.

Not to me. I’m a WvWvW focused player. The deciding factor for my decision for purchase or not purchase of the expansion or any gems etc. ever again, is how a-net will handle the current WvW issues, if at all.

yea, i know there are announcements / PR , but PR announcements have been done in the past with about zero results. so this time around, waiting for the results 1st to see what it is i am to pay for.

It was worth it for me. I bought the 99.99 USD level called Ultimate. I did so because, I wanted to support a company that gives me a lot of pleasure in my life. I did so right when they put it up for pre-purchase and can not wait until release of the expansion. I think if you are going to play for sure the expansion and you can ford to be without the cost of the expansion from now until release then yes it is worth it. If money is tight and you really need that money to survive on then wait until release to buy it.

I’d wait a few months until they sort out all the bugs and the map population dies down a little as people rush the content then go back to chasing chests (or whatever it is that pve players do).

It depends.

I bought it with the ultimate version as….
1) i am a happy customer for the 3 years GW2 have gave me, where i would love to see it through
2) i am buying gems anyway for the passed years in order to free from gold farming if i want to buy gemstore items
3) i want to take part in the beta weekend in order to try new exciting contents before hand, and so far i am very happy about the beta weekend
4) i have 13 lv80 cha and i would love to create more, 2 extra slots is definitely what i will need
5) Elite spec will provide a lot of additional replay value to all my existing cha

Otiveht.5482:

I truly believe the “Pre-Purchase” idea has run its coarse and players should not fall in to this idea of marketing. Im not saying the GW2 expansion isnt worth it or isnt going to be good, i just believe people shouldnt pay for something that doesnt exist in the players hands yet.

Totally agree. Not to mention that by prepurchasing, you’re basically saying you’re happy paying for less content.