Guild Wars 2

Jordo.5913:

Morsus.5106:

How will the additional character slot work if I preorder at GameStop or Amazon tomorrow? I really want the boxed edition, but I’ll order it digitally to get the character slot though. It’d be a shame to have to go without the box though

You HAVE to pre-purchase from Best Buy or Gamestop. You have to pay in full. If you pre-order you don’t get any of the bonuses, including Beta Access or the exclusive Title.

You will get the code on your receipt, and you must apply that code to your account before HoT launch.

Can you source this for me?

Thank you for listening to the community. I will be prepurchasing soon.

Lyger.5429:

Castaliea.3156:

This is really great and I really appreciate this being done. <—Key point.
That being said…I’ve bought all the slots I want. I ordered the Ultimate and already got another to try the new class or an elite spec.

It just seems kind of redundant to add an “additional character slot” to something that already gives me an “additional character slot”. I really don’t need or want this as it was something that was really already part of a package deal. I understand the rushed manor of this announcement but the people this benefits the most are the ones to get the base version. I’m sure others are more than happy to get free slots it just seems redundant and it bothers me.

To be honest I would’ve much rather seen this:

The ability to purchase any one account upgrade for free (800 gems or less) in the gem store one time has been given to players who had an active account prior to X date and have pre-purchased HoT.

This way the reward is customized to every player’s needs which actually makes people feel better about getting what they want out of this expansion and therefore more likely to buy it (or feel better about doing so).

Again, just some wishful thinking from a guy who spent 100$ and already had a new character slot. Thanks.

Yea perhaps gems in the future, so you can decided what you want to buy!

I wanted to restrict it to the “account upgrade” component so it felt more inline with a actual upgrade to your account in addition to the expansion instead of simply “get 4800” gems!" Not that I’d mind 800 more gems I just thought that would be redundant as well.

Darn. I had already purchased an extra character slot for the new class. ): And I have all the classes already.. I wonder if I could get it refunded, or if it is even worth it..

Entenkommando.5208:

Orimidu.9604:

All comes down to the cost:content ratio. Therefore I will not be prepurchasing since there is nothing to show how much content will be in the expansion.

It’s not about cost:content ratio, it’s about cost:playtime ratio

Yeah, and seeing how bad the PvE is in the current game, I have not seen enough to show that this feature pack will produce anything better.

As such I have mainly been a WvW player, the matchups right now are very stale, lots of people arent playing much any more; just a couple hours peak time then off to other games.
This pack brings one new map, which thankfully we can play on without buying HoT. But what else will we get? How long before the new maps become EOTMv2?

For a WvW player the content and playtime still dont justify the cost.

Amazing. I look forward to making my Revenant without having to delete a character.

I just hope this isn’t a ‘mini’ expansion. I would like to know if we will venture into the rest of Tyria that we have known about in GW1 with HoT. Then go a new continent with next expasnion. If it is Just a few Maguma zones it’ll be disappointing. Finally, I hope its not another 3 years of waiting till more content is added.

It’s definitely a step in the right direction. I’m still probably not pre-ordering until we get more information, like the total sum of new content and the release date. I’m gonna go explore SWTOR just until some new info comes out. I’m due for a break anyway.

Morsus.5106:

Jordo.5913:

Morsus.5106:

How will the additional character slot work if I preorder at GameStop or Amazon tomorrow? I really want the boxed edition, but I’ll order it digitally to get the character slot though. It’d be a shame to have to go without the box though

You HAVE to pre-purchase from Best Buy or Gamestop. You have to pay in full. If you pre-order you don’t get any of the bonuses, including Beta Access or the exclusive Title.

You will get the code on your receipt, and you must apply that code to your account before HoT launch.

Can you source this for me?

I’m guessing Jordo is seeing different retailers? This is what the FAQ say:

Can I pre-purchase through my favorite retailer?

Yes. Starting on June 23, 2015, you’ll be able to pre-purchase boxed and digital editions of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns from our official retail partners. You may also be able to pre-order through retailers, but there is no official pre-order program and pre-purchasing is the only way to receive the benefits of our pre-purchase program, including access to all of the Beta Weekend Events.
Note that the Ultimate edition is only available for purchase in-game and via buy.guildwars2.com. Additionally, there won’t be an option to upgrade to the Ultimate edition later if you decide to purchase the Standard or Deluxe edition.

It says “pre-purchase” along with the retail partners (as listed for your country), and at least German Amazon lists HoT as pre-purchase as well, as opposed to pre-order. I guess (hope) this means that buying the boxed version will still get us a key we can tie to our account in time to get those bonuses.

Very solid response to the community. Looks like the hype train can get back on track

Ticket please !

While I’m still not entirely convinced whether the add-on is really worth the price tag or not, I appreciate this step: Buying the add-on is no longer off the table and should something really catch my interest in future revelations about it I’ll put my money where my mouth is.

Really appreciate Anet for listening. I didn’t like the price point in terms of what was included, but I never felt the urge to attack you as if you had done something personally wrong to me. I’m glad to see people finally coming to their senses now that you have compromised some. I’m also glad to know that future content prior to the 2nd expansion (if that happens, as you said) will be free like the living stories were prior to expansion #1. Nice to know I’m buying 1-2.5 years worth of content and not just what’s in the expansion at first

You still don’t address the scammy 45E you decided for this dlc, and you still are silent or extremely vague about the amount/content in there. Stop try to scam us and at least put the dlc on open beta for those that have already buyed it. Why are you so ashamed about your work ?

Orochimaru.4730:

Entenkommando.5208:

Orimidu.9604:

All comes down to the cost:content ratio. Therefore I will not be prepurchasing since there is nothing to show how much content will be in the expansion.

It’s not about cost:content ratio, it’s about cost:playtime ratio

Yeah, and seeing how bad the PvE is in the current game, I have not seen enough to show that this feature pack will produce anything better.

As such I have mainly been a WvW player, the matchups right now are very stale, lots of people arent playing much any more; just a couple hours peak time then off to other games.
This pack brings one new map, which thankfully we can play on without buying HoT. But what else will we get? How long before the new maps become EOTMv2?

For a WvW player the content and playtime still dont justify the cost.

It’s fine then.
I am a WvW player myself and I am 99% certain that I may only visit the new maps once.
But I am sure that I will spent at least another 1000 hours in WvW…HoT exclusive or not…that’s worth the 100$ for me.

Hooray! This was such a welcome thing to see today. Pre-ordering and advocating the game to commence in 3..2..1..

I would have preferred 800 gems (which leaves the option to buy the character slot or not), but I am still very happy with this gesture.

Now all I need is a release date, and then I can seriously consider making a purchase. (Sorry, I will not be paying money before I know when I will be receiving the product.)

I really appreciate that you came back to the issues.

One thing still boggles me, though: Why will you offer the additional character slot only to the pre purchase? Any existing GW2 player with a maxed out account who comes back late and buys the expansion after it launched will still run into the issue of having to buy an extra char slot to play the new class. As long as there is a new class / race in an expansion, adding a character slot for it only seems normal, regardless of when a player buys it.

And please reconsider selling a boxed collectors edition with additional goodies (artwork, making of, etc.)

It’s an improvement.

…Still, I remember way back.

When Guild Wars: Prophecies was released, it came with 4 character slots.

When Guild Wars: Fractions was released, new players who bought it got 4 character slots. Old players who merged Prophecies and Factions got 2 new character slots, in a total of six.

(Notice how this was not “prepurchasing” – the “pay me now and I’ll release one day eventually” philosophy didn’t exist yet. Plus, players could buy and merge the accounts whenever they wanted, not only when preordering.)

There were many, many complaints about how “4 + 4 = 6”.

Now, years later, what do we have?

“If you prepurchase, 5 + 5 = 6. If you wait until after release, 5 + 5 = 5”

ArenaNet, this may have been an improvement. Don’t think it was enough.

Phat Stackage.5329:

Still quite a bit upset. here is a few reasons why:
1. Anyone who just recently bought a deluxe edition or higher now has a less of a value for their money. Expecting plenty of others to agree with this. Can’t you guys just admit ya gone and goofed the different packages?

Actually those who buy a Deluxe Edition or higher will have TWO additional characters slots added to their account instead of just one now.

Bristingr.5034:

Phat Stackage.5329:

Still quite a bit upset. here is a few reasons why:
1. Anyone who just recently bought a deluxe edition or higher now has a less of a value for their money. Expecting plenty of others to agree with this. Can’t you guys just admit ya gone and goofed the different packages?

Actually those who buy a Deluxe Edition or higher will have TWO additional characters slots added to their account instead of just one now.

Please read my post.
2 isn’t really a great thing. Especially when only 1 class is coming out.

It’s better than a kick in the butt. Still waiting for clarity on whether or not July 31, 2015 is officially the end of pre-purchase though.

Why is this for pre-purchase only though? 50 euro is way too much still, I’ll wait for release and buy it from somewhwere else (if at all, reviews will tell), thank you very much. I’ll save up real money and buy a slot with gold if you insist so much.

I’m sure someone already said this among all the posts in this thread and several of the others I saw… but I personally would have preferred, instead of a free additional character slot, seeing an option for those who registered PRIOR to Jan 23, 2015 – discounted pricing for the expansion, something like: 49.99 gets you the Deluxe version and 74.99 gets you the Ultimate version.

Might actually see some people jumping at the second, higher priced alternative who meet the “older than this year” criteria… been here since the game started? Where’s my reward?

$50 worth of gems might sway some people… then it only feels like you are paying $15 for the “new” content (when you already had the core part anyway). And that feels to me more like I got a reward for being a long term player…

Getting the extra fluff of the Deluxe version for 49.99 also doesn’t make me feel like I was somehow cheated.

Anyway… needed to get that out.

Orochimaru.4730:

Yeah, and seeing how bad the PvE is in the current game, I have not seen enough to show that this feature pack will produce anything better.

As such I have mainly been a WvW player, the matchups right now are very stale, lots of people arent playing much any more; just a couple hours peak time then off to other games.
This pack brings one new map, which thankfully we can play on without buying HoT. But what else will we get? How long before the new maps become EOTMv2?

For a WvW player the content and playtime still dont justify the cost.

Honest question here:

Why would you bother even considering to buy an expansion, at any price, that doesnt add to your preferred play mode? There really isn’t much room to complain about the pricing of something that is not marketed or intended to be sold to you. Functionally you are getting some additional play (perhaps not a lot, but some) without needing to spend anything at all.

Fernling.1729:

There was a big thread way before they announced the prepurchase asking for a slot to be included with the expansion. It wasn’t until after everything blew up(including massively, pc gamer etc) that they went back on it.
I’m not convinced they would have changed this if the freakout wasn’t as large. Even the worst companies know a thing or two about damage control.

Yep this. A lot of brand damage was caused, ostensibly because greed won the day.

It seems very obvious to me that an expac for a 3yo game that introduces a new class should come with a char slot, especially when GW1 expacs used to come with 2, and especially when the disparity between the new and existing player offerings was so huge.

There’s no sugar-coating that this was a massive kittenup from a marketing & brand POV, and really, a lot of this was foreseeable in players’ requests for char slots in previous forum posts from months ago.

AlexanderFalkor.4765:

Lustre Of Havoc.9173:

What this address says to me:

Veteran players have to pay full price for an expansion every time.
New players will always have the cheapest deals.

Thanks, ANet. Been with you for over 10 years and gave you money for the in-game stuff you release now and then. Instead of rewarding us, you just laugh at us and make us pay more. I can feel the love. I don’t need any more character slots. If I wanted more, I can just buy one with in-game money.

can you not be happy with what they are doing i mean jeez you whine for one thing then another

Yeah, that evil, evil whining that at least got some people an additional character slot or refunds. Really, the nerve of those people…

Red Queen.7915:

Morsus.5106:

Jordo.5913:

Morsus.5106:

How will the additional character slot work if I preorder at GameStop or Amazon tomorrow? I really want the boxed edition, but I’ll order it digitally to get the character slot though. It’d be a shame to have to go without the box though

You HAVE to pre-purchase from Best Buy or Gamestop. You have to pay in full. If you pre-order you don’t get any of the bonuses, including Beta Access or the exclusive Title.

You will get the code on your receipt, and you must apply that code to your account before HoT launch.

Can you source this for me?

I’m guessing Jordo is seeing different retailers? This is what the FAQ say:

Can I pre-purchase through my favorite retailer?

Yes. Starting on June 23, 2015, you’ll be able to pre-purchase boxed and digital editions of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns from our official retail partners. You may also be able to pre-order through retailers, but there is no official pre-order program and pre-purchasing is the only way to receive the benefits of our pre-purchase program, including access to all of the Beta Weekend Events.
Note that the Ultimate edition is only available for purchase in-game and via buy.guildwars2.com. Additionally, there won’t be an option to upgrade to the Ultimate edition later if you decide to purchase the Standard or Deluxe edition.

It says “pre-purchase” along with the retail partners (as listed for your country), and at least German Amazon lists HoT as pre-purchase as well, as opposed to pre-order. I guess (hope) this means that buying the boxed version will still get us a key we can tie to our account in time to get those bonuses.

In the local shop here I would be able to go and get it tomorrow (While they only have the standard edition at the moment), so it should be no problem.

Castaliea.3156:

Bristingr.5034:

Phat Stackage.5329:

Still quite a bit upset. here is a few reasons why:
1. Anyone who just recently bought a deluxe edition or higher now has a less of a value for their money. Expecting plenty of others to agree with this. Can’t you guys just admit ya gone and goofed the different packages?

Actually those who buy a Deluxe Edition or higher will have TWO additional characters slots added to their account instead of just one now.

Please read my post.
2 isn’t really a great thing. Especially when only 1 class is coming out.

Oh, cut the carping. Be glad ANet did something, instead of whining about how it wasn’t exactly what you wanted. Some people will find fault in anything, I swear.

good news….and now a more reasonable basic offer.

This game is awesome, and people seem to forget how many games come out that suck (especially most other MMO’s, I’d name them but the list is too long). Guild Wars 2 is my favorite game and HoT is going to make it even better, HYPE!

If you’re whining because of pricing you should stop crying. I’ve played this game since December 2012 so who cares if new players get the base-game for free? Im glad that Anet added changes today to help people who recently bought the game but for everyone else who cares, I got my money’s worth out of the base-game a long time ago. Sure the expansion should have come with a free character slot so everyone can play the new Revenant class right at launch (and I’m glad they added it to the standard expansion) but more than anything, I want Guild Wars 2 to bring in as many more active players as possible, its only going to make everyone’s experience that much better. If you’re really a veteran of this game you should want to see Guild Wars 2 live as long of a life as possible. In order for that to happen we have to retain our current player-base, bring people back to the game who stopped playing, and add as many new players as possible.

Ultimate
99.99 USD

Standard Game + HoT expansion
4000 Gems (50 USD value)
Additional Character Slot (x2)
Miniature Revenant Rytlock
Revenant Finisher
Mordremoth’s Bane Guild Hall Decoration
Heart of Thorns Glider Skin

I wanted the game to cost 50.00 because I want this game to have long-term support (getting an ultimate version is even better than what I’d hoped for initially, and 2 slots is better than 1, I have like 10 already…). I don’t mind spending money when I know I’m getting a great deal, plus, I don’t buy every game that comes to market so its not going to break the piggy bank

Important note: Despite what I’m writing I’ll still probably get the expansion just because(also would have from the beginning most likely). This is just how I feel about this whole thing.

tbh it still reads like a kick in the balls.

I mean it’s good that Arenanet is acknowledging that their plan wasn’t thought through properly but I really couldn’t care less about a character slot. Sure this is the price I had in mind from the beginning (40 + 10 for the slot now) but I’m already at 9 slots so there is little value in it for me. Yes all 9 of those are currently used but I was going to delete one of them because I just made the character for the story achievements anyway.

And then there comes the part about the pricing model. Makes me wonder why I should buy the expansion now. Sure I’ll miss out on some content for a few years but with a deal like that why not just buy every third expansion and save a lot. I mean most things are available without the expansion, too. I’m really just missing out on the new map.

Their intentions are noble but I still don’t see how it’s supposed to be a good thing for their loyal customers. Really a great option for newcomers but it makes me kinda worried that so many people are thinking now it is a great deal. Are people really bought that easily?

Much thanks, Anet. I appreciate it, truly.

“Moving On”

/15 chars

I’m having a moment of weakness too! Just bought the Ultimate Edition after being angry the whole last week. I’m actually very excited now!

Smallclaw.1650:

Castaliea.3156:

Bristingr.5034:

Phat Stackage.5329:

Still quite a bit upset. here is a few reasons why:
1. Anyone who just recently bought a deluxe edition or higher now has a less of a value for their money. Expecting plenty of others to agree with this. Can’t you guys just admit ya gone and goofed the different packages?

Actually those who buy a Deluxe Edition or higher will have TWO additional characters slots added to their account instead of just one now.

Please read my post.
2 isn’t really a great thing. Especially when only 1 class is coming out.

Oh, cut the carping. Be glad ANet did something, instead of whining about how it wasn’t exactly what you wanted. Some people will find fault in anything, I swear.

And some people will say “Thank you for not shooting me, as a token of my appreciation, I want to inform you I have $1000 stashed away in my shoe” when they get robbed at gunpoint

Daddar.5971:

I’m having a moment of weakness too! Just bought the Ultimate Edition after being angry the whole last week. I’m actually very excited now!

HYPE TRAIN!

Good show, Anet. Purchasing now (^_^)

Not at all, BolkovonHarnfeldt. A-Net had good intentions, but horribly mishandled the rollout. they quickly fixed their mistake, and they should be recognized for that. Whether you spend the money is up to you, but I now feel that the price they’re asking is fair. I just paid it.

wow, look at em glow!!!

this is awesome, you are obviously going to kitten off other people and they will put up a new fight and get us even Moar goodies!!

-patiently eats popcorn- /Cheer

BolkovonHarnfeldt.1372:

Smallclaw.1650:

Castaliea.3156:

Bristingr.5034:

Phat Stackage.5329:

Still quite a bit upset. here is a few reasons why:
1. Anyone who just recently bought a deluxe edition or higher now has a less of a value for their money. Expecting plenty of others to agree with this. Can’t you guys just admit ya gone and goofed the different packages?

Actually those who buy a Deluxe Edition or higher will have TWO additional characters slots added to their account instead of just one now.

Please read my post.
2 isn’t really a great thing. Especially when only 1 class is coming out.

Oh, cut the carping. Be glad ANet did something, instead of whining about how it wasn’t exactly what you wanted. Some people will find fault in anything, I swear.

And some people will say “Thank you for not shooting me, as a token of my appreciation, I want to inform you I have $1000 stashed away in my shoe” when they get robbed at gunpoint

Oh, how creative of you, but comparing an expansion price and all it entails to that is a little immature, nevermind being robbed:being a carper contains completely separate variables. People griped from the getgo about the xpac and how Veterans didn’t get diddly, and now that ANet has answered them, people aren’t satisfied. They want more. Always more. Especially when it isn’t what they wanted. Boo freakin’ hoo.

Let’s just hand out the xpac for free. Everything. All of it. Free unlimited slots, free content forever, free gems, free everything. Yeah?

Wow, I’m kinda impressed and shocked at the same time. Not about Anet, I think it’s good that the company did some reflection on their marketing strategies.

In fact I’m really shocked about our community here. You “only” get the free charslot if you pre-purchase? So if you instantly pay 50$, with still no additional info about the content? And if you choose to take your right to wait and decide later on, you won’t get the charslot? Wow, just wow. Again, kudos to ArenaNet for taking this step. But the comm…. ugh, sometimes I don’t get this world anymore. Everything’s just forgotten and great+shiny all over again. Sigh…

I still wont pre-purchase since the real problems haven’t even been dealt with imo. Gosh, I’m 23 years old and already feel to old for this stuff.

Edit @Nanashi
Thank god I’m not the only one who feels stunned and kind of empty from the reactions we see here.

The customers prevail. I still think $50 is way too expensive when I don’t know what I’m buying. There’s a rumor that we won’t even be fighting Mordremoth in this expansion. So if this is half an expansion, it is not worth that price. There had better be a full game worth of PVE content, and an epic end boss for that price.

Miku.6297:

Gaile, so what happens to the people that pre ordered the more expensive additions because they wanted ONE character slot for the expansion?

Nothing, because there are no such people. Noone orders an edition worth $25 more just to get something they can easily buy for $10.

Smallclaw.1650:

BolkovonHarnfeldt.1372:

Smallclaw.1650:

Castaliea.3156:

Bristingr.5034:

Phat Stackage.5329:

Still quite a bit upset. here is a few reasons why:
1. Anyone who just recently bought a deluxe edition or higher now has a less of a value for their money. Expecting plenty of others to agree with this. Can’t you guys just admit ya gone and goofed the different packages?

Actually those who buy a Deluxe Edition or higher will have TWO additional characters slots added to their account instead of just one now.

Please read my post.
2 isn’t really a great thing. Especially when only 1 class is coming out.

Oh, cut the carping. Be glad ANet did something, instead of whining about how it wasn’t exactly what you wanted. Some people will find fault in anything, I swear.

And some people will say “Thank you for not shooting me, as a token of my appreciation, I want to inform you I have $1000 stashed away in my shoe” when they get robbed at gunpoint

Oh, how creative of you, but comparing an expansion price and all it entails to that is a little immature, nevermind being robbed:being a carper contains completely separate variables. People griped from the getgo about the xpac and how Veterans didn’t get diddly, and now that ANet has answered them, people aren’t satisfied. They want more. Always more. Especially when it isn’t what they wanted. Boo freakin’ hoo.

Let’s just hand out the xpac for free. Everything. All of it. Free unlimited slots, free content forever, free gems, free everything. Yeah?

Thanks for not taking that literally and also for the strawman at the end, appreciated

While this resolution isn’t ideal for me personally I’d like to say props to Anet for stepping up to the plate and acknowledging their mistake and refunding people who bought the game since January due to poor advertising. I’d goes a long way in restoring my faith in the company as a whole.

I’m still on the fence as to whether the expac is worth $50 (character slot included) but that is just my inner scrooge speaking. At least players who have been support the game for 3 years are getting some recognition for their loyalty.

Thank you for this.

Very nice! Now I’m at least considering pre-purchase. I’d still like to know more about what we’re getting, such as how large an area/number of zones, before deciding to purchase.

It’s a bit unfortunate IMO that the extra slot is only for pre-purchase, but hey, at least you did this Thank you.

I can see why some people want to see more before buying. That’s fine. But the whole ‘unfairness’ thing has been (completely!) fixed. Good enough for me. I’m going to trust A-Net on this. Just pre-purchased, and happily.

Ricky.4706:

wow, look at em glow!!!

this is awesome, you are obviously going to kitten off other people and they will put up a new fight and get us even Moar goodies!!

-patiently eats popcorn- /Cheer

That wasn’t the purpose of the post but you can assume whatever you want

I planned on buying the Ultimate version from the night the were released. I just have to wait for payday.
That ANet is now including a second slot is a nice bonus, but in no way has influenced my choice on buying the Ultimate version.
From the beginning I have always planned on the Ultimate.
I covet the “shinies” it comes with. I already have plans for the 4000 gems, for the node packs so they will deliver use over time versus a “flashbang” feeling. I have an extra slot ope currently, this will give me a total of 3 open slots. I can chose to fill the other 2 or not as I see fit (one will be a Rev!)
I feel the content show thus far is enough, for me, to warrant a purchase. The extras are for me. Period. I am happy to pre-purchase and support ANet and at the same time take advantage of the great “fluff” items that make me feel happy inside.
Thank you ANet for the options given.
Thank you ANet for the expansion given.
Happy day!

Hiwi Kiwi.7386:

Darn. I had already purchased an extra character slot for the new class. ): And I have all the classes already.. I wonder if I could get it refunded, or if it is even worth it..

Just email them or call. They will probably refund you.