Guild Wars 2

while I don’t think this will satisfy everyone, I think it’s certainly a move in the right direction – enough that I, for one, am satisfied with the outcome.

so thanks for this Anet.

YES YES YES YES YES I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Thank you Anet for listenning!
You’re a great company with great people who made great games!

I’d like to echo the concern others who have purchased the deluxe/ultimate edition expressed. One of the reasons I purchased the upgraded edition was because is came with a character slot. A second slot is really of no value to me. I think it would be nice to consider some other type of item/reward for the people that bought those editions. I’m not trying to be greedy or entitled. It just seems for those of us that were willing to buy the upgraded editions from the start an other option aside from a second character slot would be nice. Thank you for listening to my concerns.

Thanks, I don’t post on these forums often, but I think it’s a good occasion. I still feel it was a bad move to try to sell the expac without a new slot from the beginning, but i’m thankful you are correcting that.
I’m still not sure that the xpac worth its price, but there is nothing wrong about that, nothing force us to pre-purchase it.

Thank you for the quick response

Judging by the reactions in game and everywhere else, you’ve made a lot of people more willing to prepurchase and a lot happier about the edition options (including me). Glad to see Anet is still the same company I’ve trusted for years.

That is really nice news to hear! Will be pre-ordering soon.

Good work on the Pre-Purchase Community Address. It all seems fair to me. Well done.

Iason Evan.3806:

I still want to know exactly what I am getting before I open my wallet though.

• How many zones are there?

• How much content is here when compared with GW2’s base game?

• How much future content will require Heart of Thorns?

I’ll be happy enough with my two free slots from the Ultimate edition (I never had much restraint/sense when it came to MMO purchases) when I do pre-purchase it. And I’m 95% likely to.

But before I do that I’ll be waiting for the same information as Iason Evan and a release date.

Thank you. I know it takes time after a crisis to get the PR together and make sure the chosen response is the right one, so I can appreciate the time taken to get this message out. I’ll still hold out on the expansion a little longer, as pre-purchasing offers very little incentives (not your’s in particular, just the concept in general) – a little more information on upcoming content is a must. But as for the pricing, lacking character slot, bundle and FAQ business – you’re in the clear again in my books. It felt weird being suspicious of you guys.

EDIT: Just informed my guild, half of which bought the game on sale after January and a couple of whom who got it via a third party. Good reactions all round, the guild is probably saved. My main concern has been alleviated. Thanks a ton!

Hooray! As someone who bought the core game after 23 Jan b/c of the old FAQ, this is really all I was looking for. I will now happily plunk down for the Ultimate Edition, b/c I love this game (just had a bit of an issue w/ the marketing team, or whoever writes the FAQ).

Question, Gaile (if you see this in the flood of responses):

As a post-January/pre-July buyer, is it safe to pre-purchase now & trust the refund to happen, or should I wait until the refund system is in place before buying HoT?

(NB: “I have no idea we haven’t built the system yet” is a perfectly acceptable answer for now.)

skowcia.8257:

Lian Olsam.9541:

now i hope you will give something more to ppl who bought the most expensive version of expansion, for be FAIR WITH ALL not only for one kind of proposal….

I see..another drama incoming. Too bad you already preordered so in fact you was fine the way it was done. I dont’see reason a reason why it should bother you in this case.

is not a drama, but i HAD 3 choices, now the chocies was modify…
if they solved YOUR problem doesent mean you are allowed to be selfish… i think BE FAIR for everyone is the best choice, i suggested to implement to the option who already had the bonus slot, the gems who need to buy one, so if u need it you will buy it, otherwise u can use it to buy something else… it seems FAIR for everyone, i dont wanna more, i wanna be listened like YOU was, also because i was one of many, who doesent make any drama and supported the game in this 3 years and bought the expansion w/o say a word….

actually now all i got to do is wait for my money to hit my bank account and ill be prepurchasing

Thank you for addressing this! My husband & I thank you.

Wanted to drop in and give a big thanks to Anet. I’ll be pre purchasing the ultimate soon.

Pre-purchased the version that already had a slot, because it had a slot what will ANET be doing about that ?

Pifil.5193:

Good work on the Pre-Purchase Community Address. It all seems fair to me. Well done.

Iason Evan.3806:

I still want to know exactly what I am getting before I open my wallet though.

• How many zones are there?

• How much content is here when compared with GW2’s base game?

• How much future content will require Heart of Thorns?

I’ll be happy enough with my two free slots from the Ultimate edition (I never had much restraint/sense when it came to MMO purchases) when I do pre-purchase it. And I’m 95% likely to.

But before I do that I’ll be waiting for the same information as Iason Evan and a release date.

They still have time to give information

should you decide to pre-purchase Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns from our website or in-game store any time through July 31, 2015.

I personally always believed you would handle this situation, I actually never doubted that you guys knew exactly what you were doing.

Thank you for handling this so exceptionally well, your response to players is more then most game companies will give.

Even though some people have just moved to new complaints (so sad knock it off)

Even though people have behaved so poorly towards you, with utter lack of respect and maturity, in some cases, and don’t deserve this very nice thing you as a company are giving free of charge to them.

Great I’ll probably get prepurchasing next month.

It is nice to see this today. Im sure there will still be a minority who have issue with something , but this was the core concern most had and I think their compromise addresses it nicely.

Thanks for doing what you can Anet team! I know in this capitalistic society everything revolves around money, and I appreciate you guys always trying to get us the best deal. This turn around shows great integrity on your parts, especially being part of Ncsoft, so thank you very much! I’ll be buying 2 copies on payday!

Thank you Arenanet for listening. And also for covering such a large frame of time to help those who bought the base game under a mistaken premise. Knowing you listen and respond means a whole lot more than being perfect.

Thanks for taking the time.

vikkival.2459:

BolkovonHarnfeldt.1372:

vikkival.2459:

Fernling.1729:

I still don’t think the expansion has enough to warrant that price. I hope there is a lot more to it that whan we’ve seen.
It’s nice that they are including a character though.

Well they haven’t really released everything so you’ll still have to decide it’s worth when all is revealed~ At least now you know the end price.

Since, as far as I can tell, the blog post mentions you get the boni/refunds (apart from closing your account) only if you pre-purchase, you cannot really wait until all is revealed…

Ah, for the people requesting refunds…mm at this point I guess you’ll simply have to evaluate if the expansion is something you would risk investing in. Like, do you enjoy gw2 and living story?

There are two kinds of refunds, one if you bought GW2 after the announcement of HOT and now pre-purchase the expansion – then you get your money for GW2 back and keep your account, and the other one, if you bought the game after the announcement of HOT and you decide you don’t want to continue playing, in which case you get a refund and your account is closed.
The latter is the only instance in which you get a “remedy” without pre-purchasing. All other “deal sweeteners” are tied to pre-purchasing.
And I won’t pre-purchase anything out of principle, since to me that’s anti-consumer

Well, for some this will be quite…unexpected, but at the very least it addresses players concerns about that extra slot. Something very much welcomed.

As for the expansion itself, i’m willing to pre-order the expansion, but depending how long the preorder lasts, i just want to hear a little bit more about it before i decide.

Other then that, it’s a great response to all the mayhem, and when you consider what you get for now in the package, the Ultimate edition provides the best value for money you can get in an mmo.

I know that a lot of ppl can’t afford it (yet ?), but depending on the content of HoT, it’s the best deal i’ve seen in a looooong time in any game. (4K gems ? hell yeh, not to mention the rest)

A perfect response from Anet.

OK. Thank You. You made a mistake, but You are trying to compensate. I was one of the veteran players who couldn’t cope with previous situation. Now it is fine. However, be aware that all this mess made people calculate and think. And many people realised that we know little about HoT content. You really need to show how big the expansion is going to be. Also, You – as company – need to better plan strategy, not change important information during months and be aware that players really won’t instantly buy everything You manage to produce, no matter cost, no matter reason. We really waited for the expansion, but the ammount of presented content is not overwhelming, sorry! You don’t neeed to disclose everything, but how about:
- how large area is going to be added?
- dungeons?
- changes in existing maps?
- changes in existing dungeons?
- more underwater areas?
- large scale events and bosses?

TY gaile , may i ask is it safe to buy from amazon/game ?

Pre-purchase is likely, but still going to wait on all the info. HoT seems thin right now. Regardless, the communication and compromise is greatly appreciated.

Gaile, what’s happening to peeps that bought the deluxe or ultimate because it had the extra slot ?

Thanks, although I was not as annoyed by this as some players, my decision on whether or not to buy HoT was going to be based on how Anet handled this. Coming from another game where devs are constantly talking with and interacting with the players, I found the silence of the last few days really confusing. But I’m glad you’ve handled it and now I’m off to buy the Ultimate version.

…now about SAB…
:P

Fernling.1729:

I still don’t think the expansion has enough to warrant that price. I hope there is a lot more to it than what we’ve seen.
It’s nice that they are including a character though.

I could be wrong, but don’t a lot of the huge changes we are getting Tusday sorta count for this expansion as they did not want to gate off the players like that, and on top, any free update we get after the expansion that may add to it like it was done in the core game, will add to the value as well?

Spleen.7836:

I still feel it was a bad move to try to sell the expac without a new slot from the beginning, but i’m thankful you are correcting that.
I’m still not sure that the xpac worth its price, but there is nothing wrong about that, nothing force us to pre-purchase it.

Except that it doesn’t really sound like they are correcting that, unless you pre-purchase. If you want to wait until it’s finished and released so that you know exactly what you’re getting, they’re not going to give you a character slot.

I appreciate the response from ANet, and I definitely feel as though it was a positive move, but I don’t think it’s really going to benefit me in any way. I doubt I’ll be willing to purchase HoT until it’s released, and I most definitely will not spend fifty dollars on an expansion pack that doesn’t come with a character slot.

Sigh. Still looks like a no-buy for me at this point. But I’m glad others are pleased.

It doesn’t assuage everyone’s concerns, but it certainly shows they listen and want to make customer’s happy. I’ll be buying five upgrades for my family tonight. This good-faith showing let’s us know our voices are heard. It’s tough to rail against that.

So just to clarify, you have to Pre-Purchase to receive the character slot ? Or it will be available to everyone who purchases the expansion Pre-Purchase or not ?

Also I see July 31 mentioned a few times in the blog*, is it safe to assume Pre-Purchase will end July 31, 2015 ?

Talon Silverhawk.3574:

Gaile, what’s happening to peeps that bought the deluxe or ultimate because it had the extra slot ?

There was anothor post, i saw on dev tracker that said they will get a slot also, so I guess in turn they get two slots.

Good enough for me, come on fellow Dredge comrades the strike is over, let us rejoin the collective for the greater good!

I think this is a great way to repair some bad decision making and broken trust. I’m really heartened to see ANet actually listening. I still think the xpac is high priced, but I’m much more willing to purchase it now BECAUSE the company has done what I perceive to be the right thing. The unambiguous message is very good too, so going forward everyone knows what to expect.

Random.4691:

So just to clarify, you have to Pre-Purchase to receive the character slot ? Or it will be available to everyone who purchases the expansion Pre-Purchase or not ?

Also I see July 31 mentioned a few times in the blob, is it safe to assume Pre-Purchase will end July 31, 2015 ?

Yes, the bonus character slot is only if you pre-purchase.

I’m thinking the July 31st date is only because it gives a realistic cut-off period to get everyone settled with refunds or whatever.

This is excellent. Tyvm for listening to our concerns and feedback then acting on it.

TJgalon.5012:

Fernling.1729:

I still don’t think the expansion has enough to warrant that price. I hope there is a lot more to it than what we’ve seen.
It’s nice that they are including a character though.

I could be wrong, but don’t a lot of the huge changes we are getting Tusday sorta count for this expansion as they did not want to gate off the players like that, and on top, any free update we get after the expansion that may add to it like it was done in the core game, will add to the value as well?

I don’t have to purchase the expansion to gain access to those changes, I would say no, they don’t count. I’ve bought gems one more than one occasion in the last couple of weeks, I like to think that helps with the updates.

Free updates after the expansion is again what I think my gem purchases go to. I don’t count WoW’s patch 6.2 as part of my WoD purchase(although I need it to play it), I think my monthly sub pays for that.

Well that’s an improvement, Good job A-net
It addresses most of the concerns, I still feel 75 euro to be too high for deluxe but may buy it anyway.

I’m glad they clarified that business model it’s an important point. I hope that when the next expansion comes round the veteran bonuses are cumulative if that’s the model you’re going with in future. (I.e you had original gw2 prior to Jan 2015 +1 , you had HOT prior to the new expansion announcement +1 etc.) to avoid any future PR backlashes.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Amlodhi Ilmarinen.4083:

Hooray! As someone who bought the core game after 23 Jan b/c of the old FAQ, this is really all I was looking for. I will now happily plunk down for the Ultimate Edition, b/c I love this game (just had a bit of an issue w/ the marketing team, or whoever writes the FAQ).

Question, Gaile (if you see this in the flood of responses):

As a post-January/pre-July buyer, is it safe to pre-purchase now & trust the refund to happen, or should I wait until the refund system is in place before buying HoT?

(NB: “I have no idea we haven’t built the system yet” is a perfectly acceptable answer for now.)

Whoa, fair question and I’m really not wanting to give you the wrong info. If you’re going to seek a refund, would you kindly click Support at the top of the page and talk with a CS agent about it? They are happy to help you with information or with the process!

I appreciate your candor. Thanks!

I bought a character slot with gems when the new class was announced, I will buy the Ultimate edition with a char slot and I will get one as a vetaran…
Nailed it.

TJgalon.5012:

Talon Silverhawk.3574:

Gaile, what’s happening to peeps that bought the deluxe or ultimate because it had the extra slot ?

There was anothor post, i saw on dev tracker that said they will get a slot also, so I guess in turn they get two slots.

I don’t want 2 slots, and I may not have bought the version I did if there was a slot going with the basic version.

People who spent money already could feel misled into paying more now ?

Reasonable solution IMO.

I really liked seeing the clarification on the business model for future reference.

Very happy.

Even tho I’ve expressed concerns about the amount of content, your honorable actions this last week lead me to buy the expansion next payday.

You have renewed my faith. Thank you.

Gaile Gray.6029:

As we mentioned in several posts on the forums and in various other media, we have been reading and gathering your feedback about the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns pre-purchase.

Please see this blog post for new information on the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns pre-purchase.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts!

All my concerns have been addressed.

It took some time, but I’m glad Anet is truly listening to their community and willing to do a ‘mea culpa’ on this matter.

now shut up and take my money!

great i bought the ultimate edition for the character slot now i have an extra one that i dont want. lol unbelieveable.

Thank you for the prompt and great response, off to put in my vote-by-wallet purchase immediately!