Guild Wars 2

I bought the Ultimate addition today, and I consider it money well spent.

I played WoW for 6 years, and WoW was $50 to buy and 6yearsx12monthsx15per month+3 expacs=$1230.

Played this game since launch. I’ve spent $400 on gems(yes I kept track), $60 for the game, and $100 for the expac = $560. So if I extrapolate that out over 6 years I’m looking at what….$1120?

I have at least as much fun in this game as I did WoW, and so I rationalize it that way.

ANET COMING THROUGH!!! THANK YOU FOR PROVING YOURSELVES

Agreed.

I don’t need an extra character slot. I need to see that there’s enough playable content to warrant $50. I’ve seen a lot of interesting update stuff, like a new profession, elite specializations, gliding, masteries, but none of that is going to significantly extend the life of the game $50 worth unless there is significantly more stuff to do and area to explore.

Fernling.1729:

No pitchfork here. I just don’t think Anet should be put on a pedestal for fixing something that should never have been a problem in the first place.

I really do appreciate that they are willing to make changes based on customer feedback, I just don’t like the extent the playerbase has to take it to actually make it happen.
People were warning/begging/asking Anet months and months ago about adding a character slot to the expansion. If they really wanted to listen they probably should have done it then. Not when they see bad press and go into damage control. At this point they’re only doing it because it’s in their best interest.

^^^This.^^^

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, it really does feel like they are doing the absolute bare minimum they could possibly get away with doing to address player concerns.

I don’t know. It just feels like ANet never does anything nice without some kind of “catch”.

Like Living Story season one, for example:
Yay, more story, and free content! (Catch: You can only play it when we want you to and if you miss it, too bad, it’s gone)

Or Living Story season two:
Yay! I can play it at my own pace! (Catch: But only if you’re level 80. Oh, and if you don’t log in during an event, too bad, you’ll have to pay gems for it later)

And now this.
Yay! They’re going to give us the character slot we told them we wanted. (Catch: But only if we give them our money before we actually know what we’re buying)

I realize the word I’m about to use here is an exaggeration, but I can’t help feeling frequently manipulated. It seems like simply giving them my money isn’t enough anymore, they also seem to expect me to jump through their hoops, and to do so on their timeline, not my own. It just…doesn’t feel good.

I’ll purchase (or not) HoT when I am ready, not when ANet tells me to. And since a simple character slot is a pretty basic feature for an expansion pack that features a new profession, it would be nice if ANet just gave the slot with the basic version, no matter when it is purchased.

But yeah, I know. There’s always a catch.

I wouldn’t prepurchase without a character slot. Perfect move. I’m in now.

I hate having to reference rival MMOs, but it is only fair because I too think that if they have shown everything there is about HoT, than I’m afraid I cannot bring myself to support overpaying.

Good news. I think it is a fair move to “veteran” players.

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?

I bought one of the pre-orders that had a slot because I wanted the character slot and figured I might as well get other stuff… Now that the char slot is free, makes me feel a little different about the value of the pre-order.

Well ask for a refund and buy the 50$ copy mate.

BolkovonHarnfeldt.1372:

You really want to get people to pre-purchase instead of waiting for the release to make an informed decision whether to buy or not, don’t you?

-1. Seriously.

So without knowing if Hot is worth the price: people preorder it just because they see it posted in a site and in a commercial?

Example: It is like paying 20$ movie ticket just because of the commercial and movie ads?..

Just forget the fact it has no ptp fee and has had countless living story updates since launch and that Anets income is on sales of the base game or black lion trader which 90% the stuff on the trader can be bought using gems paid for by ingame gold then focus on what they have shown us via video for the HoT expac with what is a low price to pay for an expac and you get plenty to complain about.

Question:

The blog post says the HoT Pre-purchase must be applied before launch, not just purchased before launch.

Does this mean pre-purchasing through local retailers will not gain this benefit? As a Canadian customer, having to pay exchange + exchange fee on the already high end price for an expansion which we on the whole know very little about content wise is rather concerning (as I’m sure it is for any players without local currency pre-order options from ANet).

Second Question:
Will we get clear notice, along with time to buy in, before the pre-purchase phase ends or is it going to just suddenly be taken down?

Keep in mind that purchasing HoT will not only give you the content coming with the expansion, but also all the “free” content coming post-expansion. A-net announced that those who do not purchase HoT will be unable to continue receiving content updates after HoT hits (or at the very least story updates, I can’t remember exactly what).

And just as everyone who didn’t blow their tops on first knee-jerk knew would happen, ArenaNet has put it right.

Did you folks seriously figure they wouldn’t? Come on. You know better than that.

Thanks Gaile, for weathering that particular poopnado, and thanks ArenaNet for doing the sensible thing. I’d already preordered Ultimate on my own, but I will admit I feel better about the purchase with this announcement and clarification in place. Hopefully lessons have been learned all around from this debacle.

Whatever else people say about this company, it’s been my experience that ArenaNet is one of the best in the business at learning from their errors, and really? You can’t expect more than that from anyone.

MrDaaark.2604:

Nothing has changed for me.

So I still don’t don’t get a reverent slot with HoT? This is unfortunate. Sorry. I’m neither paying more, nor grinding out a new slot to access something I just would have paid 50$ for.

Looks like I will neither pre-purchase or purchase HoT.

May I ask when did you buy the game for it to not change all?

If it was 23 jan 2015 you can get a refund on how ever much you paid and put that money towards hot + pay the extra money and not lose progress at all.

If its older then 23 jan 2015 and you buy any of the editions of hot you will get 1 more character slot if you apply the code before hot is officialy launched.

I cant see how this news dont change it at all for you please enlighten me.

Castaliea.3156:

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.

Are you kidding me? I just paid 100$ and one of the defining features was “Additional character slot”. Now I get another, redundant one? For what? That hidden second profession they haven’t revealed yet? As i said in my original post, I’m super glad they did this, I am. But I think it could be done BETTER with a benefit to everyone, not just to the 50$ pack which I outline in my original post so go read that then come use poor quotes and QQ on me more.

Ask for a downgarde to the 50$ version, hope you havent spent any of those 4k gem yet.

kevvy.5081:

Zalavaaris.5329:

You know if you don’t buy the ultimate and instead buy two copies of hot you will have 6 new character slots AND two accounts for daily log in rewards. 2 months of that and you’ll have your 4k worth of gems in gold. The rest after 2 months is all profit.

What’s the calculation method you used to get 4k worth of gems in 2 months?

Its contingent on the price of t6 mats and aquiring 110 laurels from log in rewards. It MAY take longer than that but you should be able to make roughly 500g from doing that from a couple months of logging in. Its also contingent on transferring all gems to gold.

minbariguy.7504:

Fernling.1729:

No pitchfork here. I just don’t think Anet should be put on a pedestal for fixing something that should never have been a problem in the first place.

I really do appreciate that they are willing to make changes based on customer feedback, I just don’t like the extent the playerbase has to take it to actually make it happen.
People were warning/begging/asking Anet months and months ago about adding a character slot to the expansion. If they really wanted to listen they probably should have done it then. Not when they see bad press and go into damage control. At this point they’re only doing it because it’s in their best interest.

^^^This.^^^

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, it really does feel like they are doing the absolute bare minimum they could possibly get away with doing to address player concerns.

I don’t know. It just feels like ANet never does anything nice without some kind of “catch”.

Like Living Story season one, for example:
Yay, more story, and free content! (Catch: You can only play it when we want you to and if you miss it, too bad, it’s gone)

Or Living Story season two:
Yay! I can play it at my own pace! (Catch: But only if you’re level 80. Oh, and if you don’t log in during an event, too bad, you’ll have to pay gems for it later)

And now this.
Yay! They’re going to give us the character slot we told them we wanted. (Catch: But only if we give them our money before we actually know what we’re buying)

I realize the word I’m about to use here is an exaggeration, but I can’t help feeling frequently manipulated. It seems like simply giving them my money isn’t enough anymore, they also seem to expect me to jump through their hoops, and to do so on their timeline, not my own. It just…doesn’t feel good.

I’ll purchase (or not) HoT when I am ready, not when ANet tells me to. And since a simple character slot is a pretty basic feature for an expansion pack that features a new profession, it would be nice if ANet just gave the slot with the basic version, no matter when it is purchased.

But yeah, I know. There’s always a catch.

All valid, and I’m hoping by the last day of Pre-Purchase I have more info that entices me. Small victories are better than no victories, live to fight another day, this isn’t the hill you want to die on, all that stuff.

Thanks Anet for being flexible. I’ll reconsider the expansion now that the packages have changed. Don’t take it personally if I decide not to pre-order in the end I do enjoy the game that I own.

-extinguishing torch and lowering pitchfork-
Happy to purchase the ultimate package now.
Rainbows and kittens for everyone!

Random.4691:

Selene.9415:

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.

At the risk of being “that guy” I’m not sure if I’m happy about this or not. I’m happy they addressed us, and they took into account our loyalty but the question still remains, is the content worth $50. I would like the character slot, and I’m really not complaining, though it does come off that way but I personally would like more information about the expansion before I pay.

Would it be unreasonable to ask to extend this opportunity to say the end of August to allow for more information ?

the 31 july is the end date to get base game people bought bettwen 23 jan 2015-16 of july 2015 upgraded to hot with additional cash or refunded and closed down.

As long as you buy and type in the code to upgrade your account with either of the 3 offers before hot launches you will be getting +1 character slot in addition to what the offer you chose gives.

Random.4691:

All valid, and I’m hoping by the last day of Pre-Purchase I have more info that entices me. Small victories are better than no victories, live to fight another day, this isn’t the hill you want to die on, all that stuff.

Yep. :-) I absolutely agree that the situation has been greatly improved, and it seems like most people are pleased with the bonus to a pre-purchase. It may not be the result I wanted, but it works for a lot of people, so I’ll just be glad for them. lol

DevilLordLaser.8619:

And just as everyone who didn’t blow their tops on first knee-jerk knew would happen, ArenaNet has put it right.

Did you folks seriously figure they wouldn’t? Come on. You know better than that.

Thanks Gaile, for weathering that particular poopnado, and thanks ArenaNet for doing the sensible thing. I’d already preordered Ultimate on my own, but I will admit I feel better about the purchase with this announcement and clarification in place. Hopefully lessons have been learned all around from this debacle.

Whatever else people say about this company, it’s been my experience that ArenaNet is one of the best in the business at learning from their errors, and really? You can’t expect more than that from anyone.

Nothing would have changed without the backlash.

I don’t think this is so much for veteran players, as much as those who are willing to fork out the money for a pre-order. Someone else actually got it spot on, it feels like there is a big precedent on getting people to pre-order the game, perhaps not as confident in it as we would hope. If it is good, people will buy it – and my main concern here, is that this ‘community’ response, did not actually address the majority of concerns that there are for the expansion. One of the big issues, since the very release of GW2 has been the story; lore and presentation, and ever since the release, I have seen nothing addressing it. I do hope Anet has something in store for us, because many of the issues deter a huge amount of players from GW2. I actually say this in positivity, as GW2 could always be so much more popular. If us veteran players who don’t want to pre-order, which is reasonable, given the little information we actually have, and little clarification around so many concerns as of yet, we will presumably be buying the game for the same price, with no character slot? Now, forgive me if I’m wrong. But pre-orders are quite commonly for early access, I understand rewarding people more, but not adding a character slot for the existing accounts which upgrade? Seems cheeky. This only makes me more skeptical as this response seemingly took a long time to occur, with minimal action and in actuality, a fraction of the concern with the game dealt with. The praise that is being given for an issue that was quite frankly so obviously going to occur baffles me, though I don’t mean to degrade those who do wish to give thanks naturally. This isn’t meant to be so much as an Anet bash, as a wake up call to staff and perhaps some players, and I do thank Anet for looking at the forums and addressing concerns, but it seems like quite the tactful resolve in removing that animosity that was all over the forums, when it has changed nothing. You’ve addressed the issue that shouldn’t have been an issue, and offered refunds to those who purchased the game up to six months ago?
“We set out on this journey to challenge the conventions of MMOs”

Challenge them! Another point I missed, is that a lot of players who are disinterested in the game due to some issues will simply not come to forums, not everyone does (even I struggle sometimes to write about a game which I play, and am ultimately not completely satisfied with, when I have other things I could or should do). Forget the price tag people, they can put a £100 price tag on it for all I care, but if they do so, it has to live up to it. So my fingers are crossed for the updates that GW2 badly needs for its player base to grow substantially.

DevilLordLaser.8619:

And just as everyone who didn’t blow their tops on first knee-jerk knew would happen, ArenaNet has put it right.

Did you folks seriously figure they wouldn’t? Come on. You know better than that.

Thanks Gaile, for weathering that particular poopnado, and thanks ArenaNet for doing the sensible thing. I’d already preordered Ultimate on my own, but I will admit I feel better about the purchase with this announcement and clarification in place. Hopefully lessons have been learned all around from this debacle.

Whatever else people say about this company, it’s been my experience that ArenaNet is one of the best in the business at learning from their errors, and really? You can’t expect more than that from anyone.

What would have happened if nobody had blown their tops? Nothing. How can a company know there is a problem if nobody voices their concern? The reason they did something about it is because we made a bunch of noise and made them aware there was a problem. However, the fact that they acknowledged that problem and did something to fix it speaks volumes about their integrity.

Gibson.4036:

Agreed.

I don’t need an extra character slot. I need to see that there’s enough playable content to warrant $50. I’ve seen a lot of interesting update stuff, like a new profession, elite specializations, gliding, masteries, but none of that is going to significantly extend the life of the game $50 worth unless there is significantly more stuff to do and area to explore.

Same. But, given their postive reaction, I expect ANet to give more and more information over the next months. But, for now, I’m not pre-ordering until then.

Given that I only play one class/one character, an extra character slot means nothing to me. But I don’t begrudge those who need one because they suffer from Many-Alts-Syndrome.

desertleaf.5403:

new players are still better off – they will get everything you just got and save the initial $60.00 you gave for free.

Uh, they didn’t get to play the game for almost 3 years.

Personally, I’m still debating on the ultimate edition. If I ever was going to buy more gems, then I might as well go for it and get the extras too.

Not only are we getting the free content that Arena Net always adds, but we’re getting an elite specialization for every single class on top of a completely new class. GW1 expansions added 2 professions. We get whole new playstyles for every existing class and probably the new one, as well. The more I think of all we’re getting that they aren’t touting, the more I believe the expansion is definitely worth $50.

I don’t post on the forums very often…but I feel like I should throw my voice into the mix here.

You realize, all they did to fix this debacle, was to offer a temporary extra character slot? You get it if you pre-purchase the game, you don’t get it if you wait for the expansion to come out and then buy it. So…if I want to wait to see everything the game has to offer, judge it for myself and then buy it…I won’t get the extra character slot.

After the expansion releases…it’s the SAME EXACT THING…why are we giving praise to Anet again? Granted, they actually did communicate and address the community, but that…in itself…it not enough to garner the type of praise people are giving them. :/

Annatar.2907:

Veteran here, and I’m going to throw my hat in the “shafted” bin. $50 is entirely too much for an add-on expansion. No MMO charges a full game price (or near to, some full games are still $50, others $60) for an expansion.

Warlords of Draenor was kitten pre-purchase for the standard edition, and you still needed to pay the $15 monthly fee when it came out to play it, so I don’t know how you can say “no MMO charges a full game price for an expansion.”

Personally I have no idea if HoT’s content (at launch) is gonna be worth $50 or not, but seeing as how I’ve been playing GW2 for almost 3 years, and plan to continue playing it, I’ll surely get $100 value out of it. YMMV, welcome to capitalism.

Thank you for listening to us. I will pre purchase the standard edition and keep the slot for my Revenant.

Ms. Gray,

Please give the Guild Wars 2 team my thanks. (And please give yourself a hug!) Having enjoyed both GW1 and GW2, and being excited for the upcoming expansion, I am gladdened and relieved to see ArenaNet addressing player feedback in the manner it has today.

Serving as a point of contact for passionate customers can be such a challenge, not to mention a thankless job. Speaking from firsthand experience in a similar capacity, I am so glad to see that you are getting kind words from the customer base as well.

My husband and I (having met in Guild Wars 1, and gotten married last year!) are both looking forward to the expansion, and have both pre-purchased as of today’s announcement.

Thanks again for your time and efforts. See you in Tyria!

Syosha.5917:

I don’t post on the forums very often…but I feel like I should throw my voice into the mix here.

You realize, all they did to fix this debacle, was to offer a temporary extra character slot? You get it if you pre-purchase the game, you don’t get it if you wait for the expansion to come out and then buy it. So…if I want to wait to see everything the game has to offer, judge it for myself and then buy it…I won’t get the extra character slot.

After the expansion releases…it’s the SAME EXACT THING…why are we giving praise to Anet again? Granted, they actually did communicate and address the community, but that…in itself…it not enough to garner the type of praise people are giving them. :/

I find the 5 months of revenue which Anet is given back to anyone who was mislead by the FAQ praise worthy. Even though I am not affected by it in the slightest I think that is a huge.

As for the extra character slot being available to pre-purchase only, there should be an incentive to pre-purchase and that is fine. There is still plenty of time before release to find out more and determine if it is worth it or not.

I went from being angry and resentful to a satisfied customer once again. The new-and-improved Ultimate Edition suits my needs perfectly. Thanks A-net!

Julie Yann.5379:

there should be an incentive to pre-purchase and that is fine.

Incentive: stop encouraging people to throw their money at castles in the air. It’s not healthy. Tell us what to expect and when to expect it, and while we’re waiting, let us know if something changes. And the free slot should go to everyone who pays for the expansion, not just the blindly faithful.

Thank you so much for addressing this issue in a timely and professional mannor, you (anet) have made a lot of little mistakes over the years, but for each and every one, you have listened to the community, addressed the issue, and resolved it… maybe much further down the road than we would have liked, but you always make up for your failings and setbacks, and as a customer, I wanted to let you know how much your efforts are appreciated.

With this change:
~Vets and new players have the same worth for their money, ie: core game now worth $10=1 character slot, also worth $10
~heart of thorns cheaper: if $10 worth of the $50 is either the core game for new players or the character slot for vets, that means the expansion is worth $40

And as such anet kills two birds with one stone, makes the game cheaper for those who think it’s not worth $50(not that I personally ever had a problem with the cost), and balances out the treatment between veterans and new players, giving us the same for our money.

That being said, I will prepurchase 2 coppies, and while I dont know if my family will prepurchase, I can guarantee you 4 more purchases at some point. Thanks again for resolving this quickly and fairly. Despite all the griping, I love you anet, and this is why, you always fix your mistakes and show that you value your customers above all else.

Been playing since Beta came out. A friend pre ordered the game for me so I could enjoy it to its fullest because some of us can’t afford to fork out a sh** ton of money. And I’ve been an avid player since. But now, I’m feeling a little put off with this new expansion pack. I don’t see that I’m getting any true perks, personally unless I were to pre purchase the two most expensive downloads. I’ll be lucky to even get the standard priced down load. And…tbh. I don’t even know if I want to now. Even with everything I read to assure the players of good things. I just don’t buy into it this time around.

Tachenon.5270:

Julie Yann.5379:

there should be an incentive to pre-purchase and that is fine.

Incentive: stop encouraging people to throw their money at castles in the air. It’s not healthy. Tell us what to expect and when to expect it, and while we’re waiting, let us know if something changes. And the free slot should go to everyone who pays for the expansion, not just the blindly faithful.

I’m not encouraging anyone, I’m waiting to find out more myself before committing but if Anet wants us to pre-purchase they should throw something in to sweeten the deal since it is a gamble. Like I said, there is still time to learn more make an informed decision before it launches and still qualify for the extra slot.

For those of us waiting to see what it entails to a fuller extent, we don’t have to pull out our wallets and buy it right this second. We have time to wait and see still, it’s vague and I still haven’t seen an official answer but I believe we have until July 31 ? So a month + 1 week. I would love some clarity on the date though.

So if we don’t pre purchase , we don’t get the character slot?

Elia.7193:

So if we don’t pre purchase , we don’t get the character slot?

That’s what it looks like at the moment but things can still change.

Elia.7193:

So if we don’t pre purchase , we don’t get the character slot?

Correct.

I read the dev tracker pertaining to this thread but not every post in this thread. So I read that blog post and found it confusing. Probably because I haven’t been reading forums consistently.

I already pre-purchased the expansion. You do have to purchase the expansion to get the expansion content, don’t you?

I understand the part about the character slot. I know I will get one because I pre-purchased the game at launch. The rest of that blog post doesn’t apply to anything about those of us who bought the game when it first came out…correct?

Reading that blog post is like walking into a room in the middle of a conversation. You stand there wandering what the heck people are talking about.

Katz.5143:

I read the dev tracker pertaining to this thread but not every post in this thread. So I read that blog post and found it confusing. Probably because I haven’t been reading forums consistently.

I already pre-purchased the expansion. You do have to purchase the expansion to get the expansion content, don’t you?

I understand the part about the character slot. I know I will get one because I pre-purchased the game at launch. The rest of that blog post doesn’t apply to anything about those of us who bought the game when it first came out…correct?

Reading that blog post is like walking into a room in the middle of a conversation. You stand there wandering what the heck people are talking about.

If you bought and activated the game prior to the announcement of HoT (Jan, 2015) you get an extra character slot if you pre-purchased.

The rest applies to anyone who bought the game after that date in anticipation for HoT thinking that they would need if for the xpac just to find out that the xpac comes with it.

I prepurchased as soon as that announcement came out. I was really willing to pay whatever they were charging as long as everyone was getting a fair deal out of it.

Now people who prepurchase get a $10 game or a $10 character slot. Good PR response Arena Net, please remember to continue this in the future.

I am content with this.

it may not be a price I am happy with, but the explanation is enough to keep me going.

I think this was all planned to get away with charging 50 dollars for it. It’s not worth 50 dollars unless the guild halls are absolutely incredible because the amount of content appears to be very low for a 50 dollar expansion.

And it’s really annoying that you are trying so hard to get people to preorder. If it turns out to be good people will buy it after it comes out. Don’t push the preorder this hard. Just make a good product and it will speak for itself after you release it.

I ended up preordering but I’m not happy about it. I felt like the only way I’d get a good value is by preordering the ultimate edition. I felt bullied into it. I may have done it, but I’m not happy about it.

Thank you, Anet! I really wanted to buy HoT (even though I suspect it’s overpriced), but I couldn’t in good conscience buy it when it seemed the deal was so awful. Just purchased it now, though.

Edit: Oh, and even though I wasn’t one of them, thank you for doing right by the people who bought the core game based on the FAQ.

This makes me happy with the character slot because Rev was a class I wanted to try out!

Thank you for the change

Just ordered the standard edition, time to save up some gold to upgrade to deluxe version in the future. Not sure if upgrading through gold will be worth it tho.