Guild Wars 2

Wolfgang Hype.8970:

I don’t really agree with this as a means of solving the price issue. The whole “it’s an extra $10 of value” is less convincing when you don’t really have a use for it. For me, and everyone I was hoping to convince to come back to the game it’s like getting a free winter coat with a vacation to the tropics. I already had a spare character slot a from a while back, and all my friends only had one or two characters. Sure, if they get back into it they might like that extra character slot, but that requires a prohibitive investment before that value shows.

There’s also the issue that it’s just another pre-order bonus. If I don’t jump on it now I lose any “veteran appreciation.”

Now wait what? Are you saying that the free bonuses should be something that will bring back players that have left, before the expansion hits? They freekin gave you a bonus becouse they gave new buyers a bonus, it wasn’t even planned to have that and now becouse of commuunity wishes (as many have wished for a free slot) They have given “us” a free characters slot for pre-ordering! Now you are complaining that it isn’t enough but you give them no what so ever information of what would make your friends to log in to play again with this bonus you got? Also I am starting to dislike this ‘I am a Veteran I should have some free stuff!’ No you are a freekin veteran and you should have enjoyed GW2 for 3 years and you should have alot of neat stuff that no new player will ever have the chance to get, I know I have atleast.

So ungreatfull.

Why are you caring so much about this?
Why is the world so unfair?
Why can people buy a better and cheaper laptop?
Why can people buy the same t-shirt cheaper than me a year ago?
Why don’t people have more common sense?
Why so many of these kind of threads?

Fernling.1729:

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.

While I not bought any yet, but hopefully soon, I always saw the gem buying was a sorta donation with benefits, since you enjoying your game so much, you give a little back, it just that you get something back too, instead of how some other mmo force you to pay them monthly to just play. You get to choose with the gems.

Actually, the player outcry was so strong that the Planet 4, Moon 4 Caldari Navy Assembly Plant sustained significant thermal hull damage.

So technically, this may well have been another “Burn Jita”.

Man..if we continue to support this “no clue….content”,I think I will have to work for NASA soon as I won’t give a kitten about the money I spend on empty words like this…And just pray you people won’t pe screwed again like last time.

EdgarMTanaka.7291:

Wolfgang Hype.8970:

I don’t really agree with this as a means of solving the price issue. The whole “it’s an extra $10 of value” is less convincing when you don’t really have a use for it. For me, and everyone I was hoping to convince to come back to the game it’s like getting a free winter coat with a vacation to the tropics. I already had a spare character slot a from a while back, and all my friends only had one or two characters. Sure, if they get back into it they might like that extra character slot, but that requires a prohibitive investment before that value shows.

There’s also the issue that it’s just another pre-order bonus. If I don’t jump on it now I lose any “veteran appreciation.”

Now wait what? Are you saying that the free bonuses should be something that will bring back players that have left, before the expansion hits? They freekin gave you a bonus becouse they gave new buyers a bonus, it wasn’t even planned to have that and now becouse of commuunity wishes (as many have wished for a free slot) They have given “us” a free characters slot for pre-ordering! Now you are complaining that it isn’t enough but you give them no what so ever information of what would make your friends to log in to play again with this bonus you got? Also I am starting to dislike this ‘I am a Veteran I should have some free stuff!’ No you are a freekin veteran and you should have enjoyed GW2 for 3 years and you should have alot of neat stuff that no new player will ever have the chance to get, I know I have atleast.

So ungreatfull.

You’re saying that trying to appeal to a larger player base by addressing main concerns that deter the largest amount of players is something with no benefits? Also, the character slots WERE expected. Anyone who played all the GW1 games will have expected it. Yes, we do have expectations as loyal fans… and we expect Anet to know what they are given the mistakes they could have learned from (to be fair, it seems like this is a big point, but the things that went WELL, have been forgotten)

Nicely done.

I feel like this reply will get lost in the deluge, but I just wanted to pop in and say my bit. This will be my first and last post on the matter of HoT’s pricing.

$50 seems like a lot for an expansion. I’m still kind of on the fence about it. That said, it’s nice to see this kind of good-faith effort to care for existing players even after all the yelling and vitrol.

At the very least, I’ll keep watching the HoT info as it becomes available, and seriously consider pre-purchasing just before launch.

1 character slot = pushing it hard? Are you kidding?

Stuff goes on sale. Get used to it.

DarkSyze.8627:

Obtena.7952:

It’s interesting people question if it’s worth $50 … considering the hundreds or even thousands of hours they get from playing the game. The price per hour of this kind of entertainment is actually ridiculously cheap compared to lots of other entertaining hobbies you could be doing.

No, $50 is not much to pay, even if it’s just ‘one map, one new profession’, like someone people are proclaiming.

$50 is not much to pay?

A player posted this:

Thats pointless you’re comparing missing information (we dont know all HoT has) with full information (we know all Heavenward has)

For example we dont know how many maps there are in HoT, what if there are more then 7?

we dont know what challenging group content there will be, what if there is more then 8 new dungeons? or perhaps 8 new dungeons with 3 paths each? It may even contain raids or the equivalent (Arenanet did hire a raid specialist after all)

and that isnt even complete HoT also came with a trait / skill system redesign. redesigned guilds (guild teams, guild unlocks etc..), and there is a new gameplay elements adventures and outposts.

ohh and a minor correction, there are actually 9 specializations not 8, revenant gets one too.

Skater.9281:

Bris.7984:

So many blind people around the community that have no marketing studies,just “eat” what they get like kids!Makes me “bleach” over…And this is why the world breaks down with this type of people…

Take a chill pill

He has a point. Originally people were screaming that there should rightfully be a character slot as standard issue in the expansion.

But then ANet paid lip service and just made the bare minimum by offering that slot for pre-purchase only, and everyone lapped it up as nectar despite the move having accomplished nothing that was originally asked for.

FrizzFreston.5290:

Stuff goes on sale. Get used to it.

Oh, stop it. If it was just sale, like get the core game for 10$, noone would even care.

Offering a free char slot will not make me buy the expansion pack.

I supported Anet by buying Gw2 at release means full price. Now they are asking another 50$ for the expansion. Which means a total of 100$ which doesnt exclude my final point = new players are still paying half of what I would have to pay for the same price.

So thanks for the char slot Anet but I will still not buy the expansion for 50$ I ll give my money to a less greedy company.

This is coming from a player with 25k hours in Gw1 and about 7k in Gw2. I was pretty devoted until this.

ArmoredVehicle.2849:

Offering a free char slot will not make me buy the expansion pack.

I supported Anet by buying Gw2 at release means full price. Now they are asking another 50$ for the expansion. Which means a total of 100$ which doesnt exclude my final point = new players are still paying half of what I would have to pay for the same price.

So thanks for the char slot Anet but I will still not buy the expansion for 50$ I ll give my money to a less greedy company.

This is coming from a player with 25k hours in Gw1 and about 7k in Gw2. I was pretty devoted until this.

I feel sorry! I didn’t quite have that many hours on GW1, but I ranked it as one of the best games I’d ever played, obviously opinion, but it was right up there with the likes of Final Fantasy 7, which should be a huge compliment, obviously Square Enix… laaaarge. Over the release of GW2 i’ve lost so much faith in the company though. Not just the way that we seem to get screwed over as veteran players for the playerbase to grow – through the smallest actions, but also through how the company views and changes the game based on feedback – which lets face it, is mostly from the most loyal of players who would create more motivation for $$ payments in the gem store. I give Arenanet credit for doing this in attempt to grow the playerbase, but boy… do I wish they would address the real biggy concerns with the game. A quick google search of opinions on the GW2 personal story spews the dissatisfaction.

Thank you! Exactly the resolution I was hoping for. I’m looking forward to pre-ordering now

I still won’t be pre purchasing.

I still think the expansion should come with a new character slot, like every expansion adding a new class did in Guild Wars, included as standard.

Trying to force people to pre order in order to get what should be standard still feels underhanded to me.

I’m happy that some people feel pleased enough to go and pre order the expansion still knowing so little about it (I’m reminded of MLM schemes for some reason, or the original dotcom bubble), but personally I’m still not feeling the urge to spend multiple £40’s before the game even comes out.

Guess I’ll wait and buy it when it either gets discounted or gets a character slot added as part of the expansion pack, not just a ‘pre order or else’ pack.

Many people that seem so happy about the char slot are also forgetting 1 thing: char slots can be bought with in game gold in a matter of days.

People have been easily blinded by the char slot that arenow hailing Anet as gods. I find it pathetic as it doesnt address the main issue.

DarkSpirit.7046:

1 character slot = pushing it hard? Are you kidding?

Nope I’m not kidding and I explained why the character slot should be standard with the expansion in my OP.

Can we just get the Gems equivalent of a character slot??? I’m one of the few vets who doesn’t need a character slot (although I’m glad they broke down a bit and soothed the majority of vets’ souls by tossing that in).

Please make this an option. You get more flies with honey than a sheet of baklava.

It’s not much difference than an MMO going free to play.

It’s always cost alot more at the start than after a few years.
If anything. If you bought gw2 for the full price, you paid for the new players as well. Gem buyers paid for them.

That they offer the base game for free just means that all those years of headstart have become increasingly worth more that the only way to not royally screw new players over is to give the game for free.

ArmoredVehicle.2849:

Many people that seem so happy about the char slot are also forgetting 1 thing: char slots can be bought with in game gold in a matter of days.

People have been easily blinded by the char slot that arenow hailing Anet as gods. I find it pathetic as it doesnt address the main issue.

That you aren’t getting the expansion for free? That you don’t consider the 7000 hours of game time you’ve already gotten as being worth the price you paid? Was this a problem when the game was being sold for $10? Is this a problem when the prices of other games go down over time?

You’re claiming other players are “easily blinded”, but doesn’t seem that there’s anything ArenaNet could do to satisfy you.

What would it take?

one correction. They’re pushing pre-purchase, not pre-order.

Majic.4801:

ArmoredVehicle.2849:

Many people that seem so happy about the char slot are also forgetting 1 thing: char slots can be bought with in game gold in a matter of days.

People have been easily blinded by the char slot that arenow hailing Anet as gods. I find it pathetic as it doesnt address the main issue.

That you aren’t getting the expansion for free? That you don’t consider the 7000 hours of game time you’ve already gotten as being worth the price you paid? Was this a problem when the game was being sold for $10? Is this a problem when the prices of other games go down over time?

You’re claiming other players are “easily blinded”, but doesn’t seem that there’s anything ArenaNet could do to satisfy you.

What would it take?

A reasonable story and presentation please, NOW! Myself and many others have waited too long to see what should have been a great and core part of GW2. And yes, people are easily blinded, how is the game being sold after time for new players at a lower price an issue? that’s common place… The issue arises when they offer the same, with no benefit to veteran players, which they have partially fixed, ONLY if you have the balls to pre-order! Which, I don’t, given the issue above ^^^ that has been well-known since release – and still not addressed as anything big.

Thank you ArenaNet First I wanted to buy standard edition, now I am going for Deluxe one :P.

The OP is right, it does feel like we are being bullied into buying the pre-purchase version, and I’m not doing it. I want value for my money.

I think this is very fair. I mean lets face it, GW2 was on sale for $10, and that’s the price of a slot. people wanted Equal value, they now have that. Anyone who thinks they should have more because they got the game at launch needs to grow up.

I my self am still not buying the xpac just yet. I want more information as to what will be in it before I buy. That way I will know if it’s worth the asking price, or wait till after launch see if more is added(like armour skins, bags, boosters), like it was to the core game and get more bang for my buck as it where.

Majic.4801:

What would it take?

A cheaper price tag if you havent figured it out already. Also it has been said that if new expansions are released they will follow the same path. Do I want to give money to such a company? Not a chance.

If people want to be treated like dummies and blinded by a char slot, fine their choice but I’m no such person. Keep in mind one thing though. This free char slot is for pre order only and theres been no mention of it after release.

They could have easily avoided shooting their own foot by offering a separately less priced expansion for current owners. None of this would have happened but greed took its toll and this is where it led them to.

Even worse now word will simply go that players are “satisfied” with this and will overshadow the real issue.

Anet has simply gave me yet another stronger reason why I won’t buy this expansion and potentially following ones

ChoChoBo.6503:

Pre-purchasing isn’t the same as buying after launch. There is much greater meaning to pre-purchasing a game, you are literally trusting Anet to deliver a great product, and for that trust Anet is thanking veteran players in the form of a character slot.

And if I don’t trust ANet to deliver a great product, they show me the middle finger instead of trying to win me over. That’s encouraging.

ANet has already annoyed a lot of players with their low-quality LS updates, stupid NPE and trait revamps and a multitude of other things. I haven’t played GW2 for months. I checked out the expansion, thinking maybe it’d be a good place to come back, but it’s “pre-purchase or go away”. Ok, I’ll go away, I suppose. Again.

This happens with pretty much any MMO that releases paid expansions.

Veteran players who want to play straight away will usually always spend more than players coming into the game at a later time.

For comparison, look at WoW:

Let’s say, on average, the base game and every expansion cost £30. This means that a veteran player from the very beginning that bought the expansion straight away has spent £180, while a new player coming into the game will only have spent £40 (£10 for all previous expansions + £30 for the current one).

Dear Gaile,
Thanks for the update, however it does not address the disparity in the price of the HoT expansion for those in for example the UK and those in the USA.

To explain at the current exchange rate the rough cost of the HoT expansion in the USA is $50, $75 and $100 for the Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate versions. At the current exchange rate converting the $US price to UK sterling the equivalent cost would be approximately £31.67, £47.50 and £63.34 respectively. Sadly ANet/NCSoft have costed the expansion in the UK at a considerable different price to that in North America; £34.99, £59.99 and £79.99 so at the current exchange rate this equates to $55.25, $94.72 and $126.30 respectively.

I am a member of a multinational guild within GW2 and the the cost disparity between the rest of the world and the North American price is typical. Members outside North America are very reluctant, to put it politely, to purchase the HoT expansion because of this.

Could you please explain why this disparity in price is present?

Reize.2176:

Skater.9281:

Bris.7984:

So many blind people around the community that have no marketing studies,just “eat” what they get like kids!Makes me “bleach” over…And this is why the world breaks down with this type of people…

Take a chill pill

He has a point. Originally people were screaming that there should rightfully be a character slot as standard issue in the expansion.

But then ANet paid lip service and just made the bare minimum by offering that slot for pre-purchase only, and everyone lapped it up as nectar despite the move having accomplished nothing that was originally asked for.

Spot on. Still not buying it, Anet.

EDIT FOR CLARITY: A lot of you are misunderstanding my point. Let me be clear: I am not against Anet marketing their pre-purchasing scheme. They are a for-profit company, and have every right to market their game as much as possible. I AM however against them saying that the free character slot is a “loyalty reward”. It is not a reward for loyalty since you can ONLY get it if you pre-purchase. No pre-purchase = no reward = nothing to do with loyalty.

The pertinent question to ask is:

“Why don’t veterans get a free character slot if they don’t pre-purchase HoT?”

The answer is because the free character slot is not a loyalty bonus for veterans. It’s a way for ArenaNet to ensure they’re not losing money from that playerbase.

If you’re a veteran player who has supported the game since day 1 but is not in a position to pre-purchase HoT, well then looks like you’re not loyal enough for the free character slot!

In their community address, Anet state:

“Veteran Player Appreciation

For our long-standing fans and loyal players, we would like to say thank you and show our appreciation. "

This is misleading because it’s not appreciation of veteran players. Veteran players do NOT get the additional character slot if they buy HoT AFTER it comes out.

This is ArenaNet’s way of disguising a protection of their income (i.e. payments from the veteran playerbase) as appreciation of veterans. It is misleading.

I wouldn’t have posted this thread if Anet had simply stated what they were going to do in response to the community outcry, and not employed their sly marketing team to disguise it as playerbase loyalty: i.e. "In response to the community complaints, we are adding an additional character slot for “veteran” pre-purchasers". Just leave it at that. What they HAVE done is just disingenuous and discredits the company’s image.

So just like all pre-purchase schemes then?

It’s exactly what marketing teams are paid to do, promote and push a game ahead of a launch using exclusives. Conan did it, TSW did and does it, Lotro does it, Diablo 3 did it. The list goes on.

As a “day 1 veteran” (which is meaningless anyway), I have not felt misled at any point on this.

That was pretty cheap move.

But then again, I got no obligations to support Anet. So I won’t. Good day (and good riddance, I hear).

Heh, and now you see people saying we should be “thankful” we can give ANet money without knowing what exactly we’ll get in return. Marketing at its best.

Randulf.7614:

So just like all pre-purchase schemes then?

It’s exactly what marketing teams are paid to do, promote and push a game ahead of a launch.

Sure, but that doesn’t detract from the point I’m making.

Animism.9803:

EdgarMTanaka.7291:

Wolfgang Hype.8970:

I don’t really agree with this as a means of solving the price issue. The whole “it’s an extra $10 of value” is less convincing when you don’t really have a use for it. For me, and everyone I was hoping to convince to come back to the game it’s like getting a free winter coat with a vacation to the tropics. I already had a spare character slot a from a while back, and all my friends only had one or two characters. Sure, if they get back into it they might like that extra character slot, but that requires a prohibitive investment before that value shows.

There’s also the issue that it’s just another pre-order bonus. If I don’t jump on it now I lose any “veteran appreciation.”

Now wait what? Are you saying that the free bonuses should be something that will bring back players that have left, before the expansion hits? They freekin gave you a bonus becouse they gave new buyers a bonus, it wasn’t even planned to have that and now becouse of commuunity wishes (as many have wished for a free slot) They have given “us” a free characters slot for pre-ordering! Now you are complaining that it isn’t enough but you give them no what so ever information of what would make your friends to log in to play again with this bonus you got? Also I am starting to dislike this ‘I am a Veteran I should have some free stuff!’ No you are a freekin veteran and you should have enjoyed GW2 for 3 years and you should have alot of neat stuff that no new player will ever have the chance to get, I know I have atleast.

So ungreatfull.

You’re saying that trying to appeal to a larger player base by addressing main concerns that deter the largest amount of players is something with no benefits? Also, the character slots WERE expected. Anyone who played all the GW1 games will have expected it. Yes, we do have expectations as loyal fans… and we expect Anet to know what they are given the mistakes they could have learned from (to be fair, it seems like this is a big point, but the things that went WELL, have been forgotten)

No I am not saying that! I am saying that giving us Veterans a free character slot is a good bonus, Wolfgang Hype.8970 is asking for something else that should make old non-loyal players to come back to play before the expansion
I own and I played GW1 with all the standalone games + the expansion, I didn’t expect it… Am I not a loyal fan? I have played GW2 since headstart almost every day and I am happy that I will soon be able to be betatesting HoT and that I will be enjoying every part of GW2 atleast a few more years. I don’t crave for a Character slot or something else just becouse I have had the game for a few years. I do agree that the pre-order is expensive and I have voiced my concerns about it but I am happy that I can support the company who is making the best MMO ever.

Again, feels like the so called loyal fans expects a cake everytime Anet farts… So ungreatfull.

Stop defending them “Majic.4801” like they are familly!You should consider that is easier for everyone to stand and hand over the cash like Bill Gates if there where something real to consider in that expansion…Just use more brain power and think what they offer and you truly gain…Think of what they did with GW2 core game when ppl asked to show…they broke alot of good things…and they still do!And don’t make me write a full list of…This is not funny…and you don’t play with ppl minds like a God,because you own a game!

Won’t stop gullible people from buying it, I’m afraid.

Lucius.2140:

Pd5: This is a simple and fast analysis, not gonna spend much time in something semiaceptable -.-

Oooooor… one could just argue that if you where going to buy gems anyway, you get HoT for about the same cost as basic anyway if you dont value the fluff very highly. No mathematical analysis required. I got ultimate edition because I really need to expand my bank tabs/inventory space so I have some QoL and that’s about that (So. Much. Gearsets. Argh!).

You can preorder 1 day before launch. Personally im holding still as i want to see size of xpac, revenant (if it good or sux), and elite spec of war and engi. I wont preorder anytime soon at this point with their pace of releasing info.

Hi all, the answer is really simple.

Because in marketing, acquisition are way more important than retention based in the (wrong) idea that acquisition means growth and retention doesn’t.

It’s the same with any internet provider, they have the good offer with the great discount and a better price for new customers only.

I am new in the game btw, I think you veterans should get an offer to update for let’s say 10€ – 15€, that should be fair.

Thankyou for listening to the community much appreciated.
I have now pre-ordered the ultimate edition.

ArmoredVehicle.2849:

A cheaper price tag if you havent figured it out already.

I haven’t figured it out because you haven’t said it.

What’s the price?

Bris.7984:

Stop defending them “Majic.4801” like they are familly!You should consider that is easier for everyone to stand and hand over the cash like Bill Gates if there where something real to consider in that expansion…Just use more brain power and think what they offer and you truly gain…Think of what they did with GW2 core game when ppl asked to show…they broke alot of good things…and they still do!And don’t make me write a full list of…This is not funny…and you don’t play with ppl minds like a God,because you own a game!

I’m not defending anyone. I’m just trying to figure out what some people are upset about that others aren’t. In most cases it’s pretty straightforward, in others it’s not.

So I’m asking.

I don’t feel misled, i payed for the Physical C.E at launch and have gotten my moneys worth.

The way Gw1 and the expansions worked it was perfect. I understand that with HoT there may not be a new starting area and the core game is essential but still nothing prevents them from offering different priced bundles to cater to everyone.

Instead they toy with people’s minds and wallets. Wanting more sometimes ends up getting you less.

THANK YOU ANET!

you should be faster with that (not to mention it should be like that in the first place), but better late then never right

about the price … €45 … for me it’s more than justified … I don’t remember how much the base game cost when it launched but if I’m going to play HoT for as long as base game (4,5k hours) it’s like €0,01 = 1 cent per hour … show me anything (not free) that cheap!

I would like them to at least announce a rough estimate of how much they want to show (to not spoil something) and how much will actually in the game.

I remember the way they marketed the core game. We only saw a bit of the capitals, the starting zones and some charr lands, nothing more…

I really hope they only plan to show of 40% and 60% is for us to explore.

I think the expansion should cost maybe 20 dollars?… If that… Will just have to wait and see what content is actually included in this release. It’s hard to think there’ll be enough content to justify the hefty price tag. Will also be watching Metacritic upon release for the reviews.