Guild Wars 2

Apologies up front if there are already other threads about this. Since the search feature doesn’t work I figured if this needs to be merged later with another thread then so be it.

I was thinking about all of the things that Anet has said will be dropping with this expansion and how a good many of those things are not technically expansion specific. What i mean is that while the new maps and zones and mechanics for those zones as well as the revenant class are all things that I can expect to be locked behind the expansion things like specializations (to a lesser degree) and Guild Halls, and the new WvW maps to a much greater degree I have a hard time seeing gated behind the expansion.

Is it Anet’s stance then that your guild cannot have a guild hall unless you buy the expansion? Are WvW players just out of luck when it comes to the new map if they don’t pony up money for the new xpac? Are masteries just going to be something that older players are going to be cut off from, and by extension, specializations as well?

If so, will those specializations only be applicable to PvE or all game modes?

Yes, they will probably lock guild halls behind the expansion. But that’s not a bad thing, its like…if I buys an ice-cream and you don’t. If you then try to take some of my sprikles/topping I would slap the kitten out of you. So just buy your own ice-cream so we can both enjoy the same thing =)

If you want a second ice cream cone, you’ll have to pay for it, just like you did for the first one.

Mishee.5719:

Yes, they will probably lock guild halls behind the expansion. But that’s not a bad thing, its like…if I buys an ice-cream and you don’t. If you then try to take some of my sprikles/topping I would slap the kitten out of you. So just buy your own ice-cream so we can both enjoy the same thing =)

Yes and then watch those players leave the game. Guild Halls should not be gated, WvW maps definitely won’t be.

Given that many of these systems are being touted as The Future of Guild Wars 2, as well as how much ArenaNet holds up community and cooperation as pillars of its game, I highly doubt they’ll be expansion-locked.

Guild halls, as an example, will almost certainly not be expansion-locked as such would either A.) require every single member of a guild to have the expansion to obtain, which would be stupid beyond comprehension, or B.) block players without the expansion from using the guild hall, which would be horribly divisive and engender instant resentment within guilds for the Hallsies from the Not-Hallsies.

Wuv would be the same, and the masteries system would have to expand back to the base game at some point if ArenaNet wants to use it as their new model for endgame progression.

The Revenant will likely be locked behind the expansion, as will the Maguuma area itself and any LS content specific to that area going forward, as there does need to be some incentive to actually go out and buy the pack, but I’m pretty certain ArenaNet will go as far as their business realities let them to avoid dividing their communities. It’s bad for customer satisfaction, which is ostensibly something ArenaNet is very keen on keeping as high as they can.

morrolan.9608:

Mishee.5719:

Yes, they will probably lock guild halls behind the expansion. But that’s not a bad thing, its like…if I buys an ice-cream and you don’t. If you then try to take some of my sprikles/topping I would slap the kitten out of you. So just buy your own ice-cream so we can both enjoy the same thing =)

Yes and then watch those players leave the game. Guild Halls should not be gated, WvW maps definitely won’t be.

This is a matter of opinions. Everyone needs to contribute to the future of Gw2, we can’t let only the strong ones hold the pillars that keep our temple up.

Stop being cheap and buy the expansion or quit playing then. At least your not paying a sub fee for this game. GW1 released 2 editional campaigns you had to pay for and 1 expansion pack you needed one campaign for and you got a massive amount of good content with each one of those.

My guess is that the new WvW map and guild halls will be included for free with the patch, but the new zones and new class (along with much of the mastery system) will be locked behind the expansion. That would seem to make the most sense to me.

Ominous.7583:

Stop being cheap and buy the expansion or quit playing then. At least your not paying a sub fee for this game. GW1 released 2 editional campaigns you had to pay for and 1 expansion pack you needed one campaign for and you got a massive amount of good content with each one of those.

Not sure if you’re actually addressing this towards me or not, but if so please understand a few things:

1- This post is more for trying to elicit an actual response with info from Anet itself (although the general discussion of such things i believe to be necessary for the community as a whole).

2- I can safely say that I’ve personally spent about 1000 dollars on this game in the way of gems since its release and have been with the franchise since the beginning of GW1. I can also safely say that recent Anet decisions have left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I am apprehensive at best about putting any more money towards them until they can speak more openly about their plans.

3- As some others have stated, gating something like Guild Halls behind the xpac would drive once loyal players away from the game faster than anything they’ve done to date, which will hurt their bottom line and their community.

I love this game immensely and have hated every one of the decisions in recent months that have colored the game in a bad light for both new and older players and simply want more open communication about these things before the beta for HOT even drops so the community can weigh in and help guide the game to a bigger and better place.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

1- This post is more for trying to elicit an actual response with info from Anet itself (although the general discussion of such things i believe to be necessary for the community as a whole).

Why? are you too special for the “deep dives” to release, that they owe you, personally, something now, just because you demand it?

PookieDaWombat.6209:

2- I can safely say that I’ve personally spent about 1000 dollars on this game in the way of gems since its release and have been with the franchise since the beginning of GW1. I can also safely say that recent Anet decisions have left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I am apprehensive at best about putting any more money towards them until they can speak more openly about their plans.

I can safely say you didn’t. See what I did there. I can made unfounded, unproven claims, to add imaginary weight to my opinion, just as well as you can.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

3- As some others have stated, gating something like Guild Halls behind the xpac would drive once loyal players away from the game faster than anything they’ve done to date, which will hurt their bottom line and their community.

I do not believe you understand what “loyal” means. loyalest will not be driven away by the concept of getting new things in expansions. You may not know this, but expansions are common in MMOs and almost always work as a pay wall to the next level of game advancement. Loyalist have been clamoring all over the internet for and expansion. With post like “take my money” and “I would be throwing money at Anet for an expansion”.

So I am not clear how you determined that giving the community exactly what they have been demanding , will negatively effect the community, much less the bottom line.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

I love this game immensely and have hated every one of the decisions in recent months that have colored the game in a bad light for both new and older players and simply want more open communication about these things before the beta for HOT even drops so the community can weigh in and help guide the game to a bigger and better place.

Have you noticed how many times you specifically say “I want” in your post. Stop crying “I want” repeatedly, then claim concern for the entire community. They already promised “deep dive” videos to go over this stuff.

Coglin:

You must be new here. Aside from the fact that it has been Anet who has touted that they want to be more open about communication, and has fallen horribly short of that just this last year alone, let me talk to some of your “points”.

Their deep dives have historically been sparse when it comes to giving any real info and usually amount to standard promo fluff and at best some well delivered info that tends to leave out the things that would be most problematic to the players on the whole. Perfect examples of this were the trait update, wardrobe/outfit update, megaserver update…just to name a few. To want more communication before the deep dives on some of the above questions is a perfectly fair request. Please note I said request since at no point have I “demanded” anything nor could I.

Secondly, I do in fact know how much I’ve spent on this game as i was averaging anywhere from 25-75 dollars for both myself and my wife on gemcards for this game as well as an additional 50 for my stepson per month for the first year it was out and a little less through the second year. I’ll let you do the math on that one for yourself. Furthermore, the reason i was even pointing that out in the first place wasn’t to give the impression that this somehow gave my words more weight, but rather it was in direct response to the notion that just because someone brings up a potential issue that they’d like feedback on doesn’t mean they have not nor will not drop more money on the game.

For as many people that have jumped on the idea of the expansion there are just as many that have long since left and are cautiously watching, and many others on the brink of leaving the game from feeling “burned” by Anet that also would walk and stop dropping the money they had been on the game. The financials for the game and company (which are also publicly available) have already shown a steady drop over the last few quarters and those drop offs are not something to be ignored. Their bottom line has already been affected by their actions over the last year and I was just pointing out that certain things, if gated, could further hurt that bottom line.

Lastly, no, I’ve not said “I want” anywhere. Quote and bold the times I’ve said it in whole before you make such specious claims. All it does it make it seem as though you can’t or refuse to read the posts in front of you.

1. Guild halls will probably be locked and only upgradable etc if the guild leader has the expansion (those without the pack can go in if they leader has it).
2. Revenant will be locked, it seems like this is one of the definite ones.
3. Specialisations might not be locked considering their stance of having this system to balance the game more and add more customisation in general.
4. Masteries probably won’t be locked except the ones that directly involve the jungle, those would be locked.
5. The new area will definitely be locked, as will the events and stories tied in with it.

psizone.8437:

1. Guild halls will probably be locked and only upgradable etc if the guild leader has the expansion (those without the pack can go in if they leader has it).
2. Revenant will be locked, it seems like this is one of the definite ones.
3. Specialisations might not be locked considering their stance of having this system to balance the game more and add more customisation in general.
4. Masteries probably won’t be locked except the ones that directly involve the jungle, those would be locked.
5. The new area will definitely be locked, as will the events and stories tied in with it.

I was thinking this might be the case as well, and although I don’t necessarily like the idea of number one personally, I can see that being a thing and can totally understand it from a business standpoint. I really do hope they also give more specifics along these lines with their deep dives, but historically they have been fairly bad about it, hence my post in the first place.

BTW, thank you for actually discussing the topic.

The particular specializations from the expansion will probably be locked, the system itself will not be though (for future specialization).

I said it multiple times and I’m gonna say it again. ArenaNet created Living Story for us, giving us content every 2 weeks, for free. People were whining about expansion because content was not enough for them despite having really huge amount of it through these 2 and a half years. They listened to you, gave you expansion, NOW you cry that you gonna be gated.

Prepare to buy xpac or prepare to pay me and other heavy golds for items we gonna bring from there to you, You asked for it, you got it, cry us a river now you greedy never happy people.

I’d assume anything is locked unless you specifically hear otherwise.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

I was thinking this might be the case as well, and although I don’t necessarily like the idea of number one personally, I can see that being a thing and can totally understand it from a business standpoint. I really do hope they also give more specifics along these lines with their deep dives, but historically they have been fairly bad about it, hence my post in the first place.

BTW, thank you for actually discussing the topic.

It was a sound topic and relevant considering the deep dives will start in a week or two.

Well if they’re feeling generous they could well make it free for everyone, but like you said, they do need to keep some features to increase sales.

Lazaar.9123:

The particular specializations from the expansion will probably be locked, the system itself will not be though (for future specialization).

If the specialitions are all jungle themed similar to the Druid, then that could well be the case, especially if you think about the fact that (I think I recall anyway) they said you’d unlock the Druid abilities from within the jungle itself.

Machiavell.7396:

They listened to you, gave you expansion, NOW you cry that you gonna be gated.

Prepare to buy xpac or prepare to pay me and other heavy golds for items we gonna bring from there to you, You asked for it, you got it, cry us a river now you greedy never happy people.

You need to calm down. This is a valid worry, if the expansion releases too much content that completely alienates the people that don’t purchase it, then it could blow up in their faces.

Specifically the guild halls, considering that could split up guilds. Everything else could be locked and no-one would have the right to complain, but the halls would need to at least be open to players if their leader has the pack.

Even still, it’s highly unlikely that every single piece of content will be locked, as I stated in my post above.

Machiavell.7396:

I said it multiple times and I’m gonna say it again. ArenaNet created Living Story for us, giving us content every 2 weeks, for free. People were whining about expansion because content was not enough for them despite having really huge amount of it through these 2 and a half years. They listened to you, gave you expansion, NOW you cry that you gonna be gated.

Prepare to buy xpac or prepare to pay me and other heavy golds for items we gonna bring from there to you, You asked for it, you got it, cry us a river now you greedy never happy people.

Not really sure why this has to be explained as much as it does:

This has nothing to do with greed or wanting or not wanting an xpac or the living story. This has to do with the fundamental structure of the game itself and Anet’s stance of not alienating their player base. In this case two major things that they spoke of with regard to the xpac (Guild Halls and new WvW map) are two things that given the current game structure would be IMO prblematic for them to gate behind HoT.

As was stated above, they could possibly gate the obtaining of the Guild Hall behind it, but that just means that guild leaders would have to buy the xpac to unlock it for their guild, but they can’t realistically lock it out from members of that guild from using it if they don’t have the xpac lest they want to drive a wedge in their player base.

Same is true for the new WvW map. Aside from it being something that many have wanted for a while, if half of the current players and some new players only buy the core game and they only make that map available to people who buy the xpac you will have a huge gap in the player base in a major game mode.

If their proposed change to the traits system is going to be as closely married to the upcoming mastery system, then there will need to be some kind of bleed through of that to people that maybe don’t have the xpac.

i think with Guild Halls it will be a case of just the Guild Leader needing the expansion. I reckon members can still use the hall without it

Dante.8456:

i think with Guild Halls it will be a case of just the Guild Leader needing the expansion. I reckon members can still use the hall without it

And to honest, I’m ok with that on the whole since at the end of the day they still need to make money and that is the value add to be sure. I just hope they confirm that more leading up to the beta since I think being up front about it will win them more points than being needlessly vague as that will surely push those that are on the edge of walking over that point, which would not be great.

Dante.8456:

i think with Guild Halls it will be a case of just the Guild Leader needing the expansion. I reckon members can still use the hall without it

I hate seeing this, its so confusing xD

And yes im with this too, guild leader needs it, but everyone else can use it.

Dante.1763:

Dante.8456:

i think with Guild Halls it will be a case of just the Guild Leader needing the expansion. I reckon members can still use the hall without it

I hate seeing this, its so confusing xD

And yes im with this too, guild leader needs it, but everyone else can use it.

Wow, dude…my brain….

;)

I hate threads like that, they’re always “It’s in your best interest to make the things I’m interested in free!!!”

Lack of foresight is pretty much the defining characteristic of humans.

Windsagio.1340:

I’d assume anything is locked unless you specifically hear otherwise.

This ^. Why would the rest of us pay for content…only for others to get it for free? What ANET does provide for free is the ability to play the existing product that you have already purchased, and everything that came with that existing game. I can’t see any of this expansion content being included in the original game, as it invalidates the purchase price of the expansion for those that do purchase. If they do give expansion content to those that do not purchase, there had better be some serious exclusive perks for those that do purchase.

Its not anymore divisive than any other expansion, to any other game. Every expansion that I can remember had new zones, that were not accessible without the expansions. The presence of a new zone does not stop anyone from continuing to enjoy the previous zones. A guild hall, that you cannot enter, does not stop you from being in a guild or communicating with your guild in the same way you already do. I can see guild halls as probably being instanced content…which I can’t imagine them allowing players who have not purchased the expansion to enter…just like a new zone.

It’s perfectly fine for other games to lock new features to expansions, but if GWII does it then the company is just a bunch of greedy kittens.

morrolan.9608:

Mishee.5719:

Yes, they will probably lock guild halls behind the expansion. But that’s not a bad thing, its like…if I buys an ice-cream and you don’t. If you then try to take some of my sprikles/topping I would slap the kitten out of you. So just buy your own ice-cream so we can both enjoy the same thing =)

Yes and then watch those players leave the game. Guild Halls should not be gated, WvW maps definitely won’t be.

I would be glad to see those cheap people leave right away. If you don’t want to support the game by buying the expansion (which is cheap whatever price they put, if you divide it by your /age, ingame time) then those players are among the people who never bought gems and thinks 300ppl works for free. They are not a major loss. Let them leave.

Btw, those players did like everyone else pay for Guild Wars 2, not Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. They bought the original game and anything they get beyond that is a generous addition. We have had two living world seasons and two feature packs for free, it is time for those cheap people to stop demanding access to things beyond the original game, we are spoiled by free regular updates, stop taking things for granted and accept the payment when they offer expansions. I do not want anyone to get the expansion content for free, ever.

I’m 99% sure they will NOT lock players out of the guild halls if they don’t have the expansion. I’m also quite sure they WILL lock players from buying and upgrading guild halls without the expansion.

So you’ll only really need the expansion for guild halls if you intend to build or upgrade one yourself.

Guild halls and wvw are kind of basic things. Also. you can’t deny that anet has done a lot of questionable things in the past 2 years. You have to understand a lot peoples skepticism

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Apologies up front if there are already other threads about this. Since the search feature doesn’t work I figured if this needs to be merged later with another thread then so be it.

I was thinking about all of the things that Anet has said will be dropping with this expansion and how a good many of those things are not technically expansion specific. What i mean is that while the new maps and zones and mechanics for those zones as well as the revenant class are all things that I can expect to be locked behind the expansion things like specializations (to a lesser degree) and Guild Halls, and the new WvW maps to a much greater degree I have a hard time seeing gated behind the expansion.

Is it Anet’s stance then that your guild cannot have a guild hall unless you buy the expansion? Are WvW players just out of luck when it comes to the new map if they don’t pony up money for the new xpac? Are masteries just going to be something that older players are going to be cut off from, and by extension, specializations as well?

If so, will those specializations only be applicable to PvE or all game modes?

I think some of the few things that wouldn’t be gated by expansion is the new PVP mode, WvW map, and Guild Hall entrance (You can’t make your own Guild Hall but you probably can enter the guild hall created by your guild).

Specialization definitely will be gated because it functions just like GW1 expansion, where new set of skills were introduced, but they’re not necessary stronger, just more variety.

morrolan.9608:

Mishee.5719:

Yes, they will probably lock guild halls behind the expansion. But that’s not a bad thing, its like…if I buys an ice-cream and you don’t. If you then try to take some of my sprikles/topping I would slap the kitten out of you. So just buy your own ice-cream so we can both enjoy the same thing =)

Yes and then watch those players leave the game. Guild Halls should not be gated, WvW maps definitely won’t be.

products cost money, not so hard a concept. If you are leaving over the few bucks for an expansion, you probably aren´t an interesting customer anyway.

A Massive Headache.1879:

Guild halls and wvw are kind of basic things. Also. you can’t deny that anet has done a lot of questionable things in the past 2 years. You have to understand a lot peoples skepticism

To be fair one can claim that [insert any announced feature here] is kind of basic things. So basically everything should be made available for free? What point would people have in buying the expansion in that case?

lordkrall.7241:

A Massive Headache.1879:

Guild halls and wvw are kind of basic things. Also. you can’t deny that anet has done a lot of questionable things in the past 2 years. You have to understand a lot peoples skepticism

To be fair one can claim that [insert any announced feature here] is kind of basic things. So basically everything should be made available for free? What point would people have in buying the expansion in that case?

WvW and presumably guild halls will have an access menu in the current menus, for wvw, they might make the new map a tab only people with the expansion can access. I don’t know. Guild halls are another beast, this has been a requested feature before launch, the people saying you’ll need the expansion to make the guild hall are more than likely right. Skills, profession, map, specializations, skills; all those are of course going to be behind the expansion, not just a feature.
I’ve been saying this a lot, but what don’t you understand?

yea this whole game being pay 2 win locked is total bs. to even create a character i need to pay $40? that is completely rediculous. all the story and everything gated behind a $40 buy 2 play wall? oh wait thats how gw has always worked nvm.

goldnuggets.7189:

yea this whole game being pay 2 win locked is total bs. to even create a character i need to pay $40? that is completely rediculous. all the story and everything gated behind a $40 buy 2 play wall? oh wait thats how gw has always worked nvm.

That’s not p2w…idiot.

We simply won’t know what is locked behind the expansion and what is not, until Anet gives us that information. However, personally I think the following will most likely be locked behind the expansion:

Specializations
Masteries
The new region and zones (obviously)
The Revenant

Things I am unsure of or think will not be locked:

Guild Halls (Guild Halls are not just for the leader who set up the guild and bought the hall. It is for all guild members. And as you cannot guarantee all members will buy HoT, at least straight away, you cannot really lock those members out of the hall as it can effect the running of the guild. So I believe Guild Halls will not be locked)
WvW borderlands (if the new borderland map contributes to your world’s success, which I believe it will, then limiting what players can participate on it could potentially effect your worlds chances. But I can also see this being locked too, so I am not 100% convinced either way on this)
Stronghold (if they restrict this it could have a negative impact on players trying to find groups for stronghold. But again, I am not 100% on this one so I could be wrong here)

I think any content that will, in some small way, potentially effect players who do not own HoT, will likely be unlocked.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Apologies up front if there are already other threads about this. Since the search feature doesn’t work I figured if this needs to be merged later with another thread then so be it.

I was thinking about all of the things that Anet has said will be dropping with this expansion and how a good many of those things are not technically expansion specific. What i mean is that while the new maps and zones and mechanics for those zones as well as the revenant class are all things that I can expect to be locked behind the expansion things like specializations (to a lesser degree) and Guild Halls, and the new WvW maps to a much greater degree I have a hard time seeing gated behind the expansion.

Is it Anet’s stance then that your guild cannot have a guild hall unless you buy the expansion? Are WvW players just out of luck when it comes to the new map if they don’t pony up money for the new xpac? Are masteries just going to be something that older players are going to be cut off from, and by extension, specializations as well?

If so, will those specializations only be applicable to PvE or all game modes?

Every expansion ever has locked content behind a “pay wall”. And if you’ve played Guild Wars since GW1, you know the answer to all of your questions. As for driving players away, a big world full of nope. Everyone in my guild and that I’ve talked to ingame have said they are buying it and can’t wait for it. I my self want to know why I can’t buy it yet. I’ve played Guild Wars since Open Beta of Guild Wars 1. Have I liked every little thing ANet have done? Nope. But I have enjoyed every hour that I’ve spent in their the game. And to show that I’ve probably spent a lot since launch of GW2 on gems. I can’t give you a figure, as I’ve not kept track. But it’s probably about the same as you’ve spent. Possibly a lot more.

goldnuggets.7189:

yea this whole game being pay 2 win locked is total bs. to even create a character i need to pay $40? that is completely rediculous. all the story and everything gated behind a $40 buy 2 play wall? oh wait thats how gw has always worked nvm.

Let me define what p2w means.
It simply means PAY TO WIN.
However, your level doesn’t go higher, the max gears and stats are still the same.
Only difference is there’re new classes and specialization that’re suppose to be equally as powerful as the rest of the classes.

So tell me, how is this pay to win?
Do you even understand the meaning of pay to win?

As far as I can see the OP was asking a question about what will be locked in the expansion, not complaining about having to pay for content. So can we please try to stay on topic and discuss what we think might be locked? If you don’t want to pay for the expansion please find/create another thread to discuss that topic.

@PookieDaWombat – I just thought I would add an additional comment about specializations. I do not believe specializations will make you more powerful than the base profession. They will merely give you more build options and playstyles for that profession. With that in mind I do not see it being a problem to lock specializations behind the expansion, as they will not offer HoT players a power advantage, only extra build variety. I could be wrong here of course, but I think specializations will be locked.

As to masteries, this could well be a hybrid in that it could be both locked and unlocked. Obviously the new region will be locked, so all masteries within those regions will be locked too. But masteries will also be acquired for existing regions, so it may well be that these masteries will be unlocked, otherwise there is the risk that HoT players in a party will have an advantage over non-HoT players while playing GW2 core content. It will all depend on what kind of benefits you can get from the masteries.

It would be kittened not to lock all of the expansion content.
It’s even fairly easy to do. You can’t enter the new maps and skills/masteries are locked.
Imo what ArenaNet should do though is sell a “PvP Pack” that unlocks Heart Of The Mists/World vs. World maps as well as all gamemodes and skills/traits, but prevents players from going into PvE. I’d imagine people could either upgrade to this if they own the existing game for a lower price, or buy it with a higher price if you do not own either of the games.

KrisHQ.4719:

It would be kittened not to lock all of the expansion content.
It’s even fairly easy to do. You can’t enter the new maps and skills/masteries are locked.
Imo what ArenaNet should do though is sell a “PvP Pack” that unlocks Heart Of The Mists/World vs. World maps as well as all gamemodes and skills/traits, but prevents players from going into PvE. I’d imagine people could either upgrade to this if they own the existing game for a lower price, or buy it with a higher price if you do not own either of the games.

It would be seriously stupid to lock WvW maps, you’d have half the server with expansion pack play on a different map than the other half without. That would definitely not work out correctly.

PvP already has unlocks for new things, though it’s not too hard to imagine that certain things are part of the expansion, and seeing a PvP only expansion pack upgrade could be an interesting option. The question is of course whether that would actually be worth the extra publishing costs and such. As specialisations, and of course the revenant are advertised as horizontal progression, they are an addition to your original options, so yeah I can see those being locked.

People talk alot and love to point out that they know more than industry professionals.
It is when facts arrive later on that we have facepalms and excuses.

The goal of the expansion is to put fancy things behind a paywall and not the other way around. If you believe that will it hurt the game, you can ask Anet to hire you to teach them how to manage their shares in the industry.

Guild halls – I suppose its gonna require the expac to claim – vel – any person that have right to claim such guild hall in a guild need expac to claim – after claiming I suppose everyone can normally use it

Revenant – obvious
specialistation – locked – for same reason that even if you had nightfall factions and EotN you coulnd’t get many skills from prophecies
heart of jungle – obvious

wvw borderline – open for all
mastery? I suppose it will require expac too

lordkrall.7241:

A Massive Headache.1879:

Guild halls and wvw are kind of basic things. Also. you can’t deny that anet has done a lot of questionable things in the past 2 years. You have to understand a lot peoples skepticism

To be fair one can claim that [insert any announced feature here] is kind of basic things. So basically everything should be made available for free? What point would people have in buying the expansion in that case?

To be fair, it’s only the WvW map and the guild hall should be available for non-paying players due to the fact that the WvW map could prevent players from playing the base game entirely for a week or so during matches where that map is active and not being able to access guild halls could cause a divide in guilds in general.

Algreg.3629:

morrolan.9608:

Mishee.5719:

Yes, they will probably lock guild halls behind the expansion. But that’s not a bad thing, its like…if I buys an ice-cream and you don’t. If you then try to take some of my sprikles/topping I would slap the kitten out of you. So just buy your own ice-cream so we can both enjoy the same thing =)

Yes and then watch those players leave the game. Guild Halls should not be gated, WvW maps definitely won’t be.

products cost money, not so hard a concept. If you are leaving over the few bucks for an expansion, you probably aren´t an interesting customer anyway.

^this

goldnuggets.7189:

yea this whole game being pay 2 win locked is total bs. to even create a character i need to pay $40? that is completely rediculous. all the story and everything gated behind a $40 buy 2 play wall? oh wait thats how gw has always worked nvm.

You heard it here first folks! Expansions are pay 2 win apparantly!

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Apologies up front if there are already other threads about this. Since the search feature doesn’t work I figured if this needs to be merged later with another thread then so be it.

I was thinking about all of the things that Anet has said will be dropping with this expansion and how a good many of those things are not technically expansion specific. What i mean is that while the new maps and zones and mechanics for those zones as well as the revenant class are all things that I can expect to be locked behind the expansion things like specializations (to a lesser degree) and Guild Halls, and the new WvW maps to a much greater degree I have a hard time seeing gated behind the expansion.

Is it Anet’s stance then that your guild cannot have a guild hall unless you buy the expansion? Are WvW players just out of luck when it comes to the new map if they don’t pony up money for the new xpac? Are masteries just going to be something that older players are going to be cut off from, and by extension, specializations as well?

If so, will those specializations only be applicable to PvE or all game modes?

I think allowing only players that buy the expansion to visit the guild hall doesn’t make any sense at all. The key here is “visit”. Every guild member should be able to visit the Guild Hall once the guild has it unlocked, otherwise the whole idea of “getting the guild together” will fail.

However, GETTING the Guild Hall and upgrading it, should be possible only if some players in the guild have the expansion. It’s a nice thing to tie to the Mastery system, and the Hall itself is located in the Maguuma, so to me it makes sense that only players that have the expansion will be able to acquire, maintain and upgrade a Guild Hall, but EVERYONE in their guild will have access to it once it’s there.

Masteries will help defeat the new content, and will be acquired THROUGH content, I see no reason for someone without the expansion to even want those Masteries. The glider thingy will be usable at certain places in the expansion areas, so what’s the use of it elsewhere in Tyria? They said some masteries will be available through old content, I guess those will be available for those without the expansion too, as a “teaser” for the rest.

There will be things that are locked to buying the expansion. The new region is probably a given. I can see the new pvp mode as a possibility as well. Nothing has been confirmed specifically, we’ll just have to wait for that.

Still, if things are expansion locked, it’s not a big deal. This is no different than when they released factions or nightfall. AB, FA, QA where all locked behind getting Factions, as where Ritualist and Assassin classes. Dervish and paragon were locked behind Nightfall. So I would not be surprised in the least if specializations and the Revenent were locked behind HoT.

With all the free content we have gotten over the past 2.5 years, I’m just amazed that some people are still trying to make this an, “Anet is nickle and diming me!!!!”, issue.

If you don’t think the new content (when we really know what it is) does not meet your standards for cost, don’t buy it. It’s very simple.

Brother Grimm.5176:

With all the free content we have gotten over the past 2.5 years, I’m just amazed that some people are still trying to make this an, “Anet is nickle and diming me!!!!”, issue.

If you don’t think the new content (when we really know what it is) does not meet your standards for cost, don’t buy it. It’s very simple.

That’s not what this thread is about, it’s about whether or not things like the WvW map and guild halls will be expansion exclusive considering they could stop people from being able to play WvW and split guild populations respectively.

nGumball.1283:

People talk alot and love to point out that they know more than industry professionals.
It is when facts arrive later on that we have facepalms and excuses.

The goal of the expansion is to put fancy things behind a paywall and not the other way around. If you believe that will it hurt the game, you can ask Anet to hire you to teach them how to manage their shares in the industry.

I think merely stating an opinion on how you think it should or could be done or how you like to see it done, doesn’t automatically mean that those people, me included, actually know better than ArenaNet. (Of course, I can only speak for myself when I say I realise that. :p)

It does however give some view on how people look at locking certain content, and if they read through the topics about the certain aspects, I’m sure there might be some of those opinions whether logical or not, which would at least give Anet a view on how we as players would like to see it happen. That is, if they read it. Which they say they do. shrug There’s no harm in discussing it either way. Even if the goal of an expansion (in your opinion) is only to put everything behind a paywall.