Guild Wars 2

Bought the game
Bought the expansion
An entire season of 1 mastery point per story episodes locked behind a pay wall.
I would understand if I had not already paid for the game and the expansion.
Theres an Xzibit meme in here somewhere…

It’s nice that they hand you gold for playing the game that you can use instead of real life money then.

that makes 2 xzibit memes then.

By the time you are ready to work on a Legendary (and the Mastery Points required), you will have enough Gold to acquire Season Two at no cost to you.

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

SoV.5139:

that makes 2 xzibit memes then.

There’s an xzibit meme where people complain about getting stuff without ever having to pay a penny for it? I’m not in the least bit surprised to find out that’s true.

theres always gotta be one defender whose going to tell the rest how they should be playing after they already paid. the rest understand that after they paid, they should be able to play how they want, and not be limited on content. in most games, if content is is behind a paywall, that is for f2p only, and the folks who ALREADY PAID (key point here objective readers) already have access and don’t have to double pay, or farm in game currency to trade it for game shop currency.

TL;DR? already paid for the game should equal access to all content. Simple really. Its called buy to play, not buy to buy again to play.

you get what you paid for, as advertised. you want more you have to pay more, unless given freely.

LW:S2 was never advertised as gift for buying HoT.

Defenders. I’ll make it real simple.

This is how the mircotrans industry works.
F2P – want access? pay for it or consume time earning it in game
P2P – access to content.
gw2 – pay to pay to play.

They shouldn’t have to advertise that they aren’t going to double charge you for content. Not double charging for content should be the norm. This is true for most other games. I say most because if I said all some rules lawyer would find the one other game double charging happens in and ignore the other couple thousand it doesn’t happen in while fully defending this practice.

gw2 is advertised as a buy to play game, not a buy to buy to play game.

You can buy it with gold.
/thread

Research is always a prudent thing to do. The game is advertised as exactly what it is. Core content, expansion content, buy to play. Living Story (optional) content, free if you log in during its active period(s). Otherwise, acquired at no cost by playing the buy-to-play content, or, if impatient, for cash.

Good luck.

This a buy to play game. I could see your point if you had to pay money for each LS. However you can get the LS for free if you use the gold they give you for playing their game or if you log in while it’s current. They didn’t have to do either of those. They’re a business not a charity, and with no subscription they have to make money somewhere and this is how they’re doing it. If you’re unwilling to use gold to buy the content, then don’t. No one is making you.

Use gold and you won’t have to pay penny. Log in during the active periods and you won’t even have to do that.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

This a buy to play game. However you can get the LS for free if you use the gold they give you for playing their game or if you log in while its current. They didn’t have to do either of those. They’re a business not a charity, and with no subscription they have to make money somewhere and this is how they’re doing it. If you’re unwilling to use gold to buy the content, then don’t. No one is making you.

No, people buying the game and the expansion is how theyre doing it.

Blindly defending double paywall for content will net the gaming community more of the same down the road. This type of hand over fist support for it is what allows it to exist in the first place.

It would also be fine if there weren’t mastery points locked behind it. The claim of “optional” is misleading, at best with currency of character progress locked behind a paywall even for folks who already bought the game. The claim of “this is how they make their money” would be credible if the game and expansion was totally free.

Oh, well. There’s always other options you could pursue.

Still, I see this optional content acquisition no different than anything else offered in the Gem Store; all can be acquired just by playing the game.

I’m not sure what ‘currency’ of progression is locked behind said paywall. Again, all can be acquired by merely playing the game.

Are people really calling character advancement “optional?”

when a character cannot gain a level in something until they pay to unlock the ability to take the level, that’s not “optional” – unless you are philosophically labeling playing the game at all as “optional”. If it was just more plot and entertainment then I would agree, but with mastery points behind the pay wall, the word “optional” doesn’t fit the bill.

Personally I think they’re being very generous, but my previous game was Guild Wars 1 where I bought character slots with real money, outfits with real money and new content bonuses packs with real money, because there was no option to get any of that with ingame gold and it wasn’t given to us for free just for loggin in.

In this game they give you the option to buy things with the gold they hand out to you for playing. With that gold I’ve bought character slots, account wide inventory slots, outfits, armor and other items. If I didn’t have the LS then I would have bought that for gold also, and considered it cheap for the price.

Maybe you’re used to a different business model from your old game but free by way of login or gold is the business model for this game and its LS. It’s a model that works for most people. I rarely see anyone who makes a thread in this forum or on the GW Reddit to complain about buying the episodes with gold.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Personally I think they’re being very generous, but my previous game was Guild Wars 1 where I bought character slots with real money, outfits with real money and new content bonuses packs with real money, because there was no option to get any of that with ingame gold and it wasn’t given to us for free just for loggin in.

In this game they give you the option to buy things with the gold they hand out to you for playing. With that gold I’ve bought character slots, account wide inventory slots, outfits, armor and other items. If I didn’t have the LS then I would have bought that for gold also, and considered it cheap for the price.

Maybe you’re used to a different business model from your old game but free by way of login or gold is the business model for this game and its LS. It’s a model that works for most people. I rarely see anyone who makes a thread in this forum or on the GW Reddit to complain about buying the episodes with gold.

Im used to the business model where those who already paid to play do not have to go through the time consumption based inconveniences you mention above, and can play what they like and how they like. Those who are free to play have to either pay or earn it in game like you outlined.

The business model Im used to is the one which succeeds the most in the industry btw. If you charge those who bought the game the same amount you charge f2p folks for the same content, the b2p folks will begin to question why they bought the game in the first place. That initial payment to purchase the game should be granting access to the content, and not subjecting the player to the same pay wall the f2p folks are subject to.

TL;DR? Players should either buy the game outright, or buy it piece by piece. If those who bought it outright are also required to buy it piece by piece, the initial purchase really doesn’t mean much.

I wonder if ANet (or any other game company for that matter) put a pay wall on every 10 levels if people would defend that. Im sure there’d be a few. Sorry, even though you have the xp for level 11 you cant take it until you run this story, which you have to pay for, or you can farm GP at cap and not earn XP while doing so to get it in game.

Players: Hey we have enough xp for level 11, are we leveling next session?
DM: bring me back some mountain dew and doritos from the corner store and I’ll think about it.

You need 49 Mastery points to complete all Core Tyria Mastery tracks. You can acquire 50 Mastery points without ever touching Living World Season Two.

I’m confused about this ‘paywall’ that prevents you from progressing your character. If it’s just lore you are concerned about, you can play Season Two without cost by joining another player’s instance.

You can, of course, also play games with a different business model, instead of supporting one with a business model that may be irksome.

I see this topic brought up every once in a while, so I’ll make it clear here again:

There are several products being advertised:
1) Core Campaign
2) Living World Seasons
3) Expansions

These are 3 seperate products.
When you buy Core you get what you pay for: the core.
When you buy the first expansion: Heart Of Thorns, you get Core with it for free.
Living World Seasons are a seperate product that tells the story between expansions, and is also most relevant between the expansions. The living world seasons are like mini-expansions and need to be bought seperately. They are given as a gift to active/loyal players for free as a reward for continuous effort put into the game.

So in short: what is advertised is: you buy the core game, or the expansion with the core, or a living world season. These are seperate products and are advertised as seperate products. You are not cheated out of any money. Every expansion and Living World can be considered optional content. I will not argue about convenience of having Living World Seasons.

I will argue the sensibility of this choice, I do agree thats its strange that HoT gives Core for free, as a gift, rather than LWS2.

SoV.5139:

Defenders. I’ll make it real simple.

This is how the mircotrans industry works.
F2P – want access? pay for it or consume time earning it in game
P2P – access to content.
gw2 – pay to pay to play.

They shouldn’t have to advertise that they aren’t going to double charge you for content. Not double charging for content should be the norm. This is true for most other games. I say most because if I said all some rules lawyer would find the one other game double charging happens in and ignore the other couple thousand it doesn’t happen in while fully defending this practice.

gw2 is advertised as a buy to play game, not a buy to buy to play game.

Guild Wars 2 is now free to play.

Guild Wars 2 HOT is buy to play.

That means everything in HoT is buy to play. You happen to get the free to play game with it. Season 2 was part of Guild Wars 2 core that was not free to play. It was something else to buy. So buying HOT doesn’t include it because it’s not part of HOT, or part of Guild Wars 2 core game that was free to play. It’s separate content for which you have to pay. If you don’t want to pay for it, you can farm gold and buy it with gold, which fits your grind for content description anyway.

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Vayne.8563:

SoV.5139:

Defenders. I’ll make it real simple.

This is how the mircotrans industry works.
F2P – want access? pay for it or consume time earning it in game
P2P – access to content.
gw2 – pay to pay to play.

They shouldn’t have to advertise that they aren’t going to double charge you for content. Not double charging for content should be the norm. This is true for most other games. I say most because if I said all some rules lawyer would find the one other game double charging happens in and ignore the other couple thousand it doesn’t happen in while fully defending this practice.

gw2 is advertised as a buy to play game, not a buy to buy to play game.

Guild Wars 2 is now free to play.

Guild Wars 2 HOT is buy to play.

That means everything in HoT is buy to play. You happen to get the free to play game with it. Season 2 was part of Guild Wars 2 core that was not free to play. It was something else to buy. So buying HOT doesn’t include it because it’s not part of HOT, or part of Guild Wars 2 core game that was free to play. It’s separate content for which you have to pay. If you don’t want to pay for it, you can farm gold and buy it with gold, which fits your grind for content description anyway.

I bought both, when each was b2p. That’s the point I am making. If I didn’t pay for the core game and was f2p then id understand being charged for content. Since I already paid for it, I shouldn’t have to pay for it, essentially, twice. This is how microtrans works in the rest of the industry. Content can be locked behind a pay wall for f2p customers, but those who already paid, already have access to said content. The issue here may very well be that they made the core game f2p, but still charge those who are not f2p customers for the same content they charge f2p customers for. Like I said before if this is the case, AND if it is intended, less and less people may buy any further expansions down the road, knowing they will be subject to the same fees they would be if they didn’t buy it anyhow.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

because you apparantly weren’t an active and loyal player AT THE TIME it went live. You can be active and loyal now. But you weren’t at that time. LWS2 and LWS3 aren’t free. Thats a faulty notion. it was never free. It was merely gifted during the two weeks it went live to the players were active and loyal AT THAT TIME.

If you joined between the last chapter of LWS2 and before Heart of Thorns.. well.. tough luck, but you weren’t a loyal and active player DURING LWS2.

If you joined before LWS2 went live, but didn’t unlock it.. well.. in all honesty: why should anet give their gifts to people who didn’t even bother to go through the login-screen for 10 seconds during a 2 week period. If you didn’t have that time during the two week period, GW2 was simply not that important to you. Its a paid product that they gifted to people who DID have the intention to log in for at least 10 seconds during that period.

If you joined later, you don’t get LWS2 and 3 for free. but retrospect, you get Core for free, which is of a much higher value than a LWS chapter.

All in all, in short: You paid for the Core game? you get the core game. You paid for HoT later, then you get HoT. LWS2 is another product that you didn’t pay for, so why should you get it? It was a product that needed to be paid for, it was simply reduced to the price of £0,00 during the two weeks

Amaimon.7823:

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

because you apparantly weren’t an active and loyal player AT THE TIME it went live. You can be active and loyal now. But you weren’t at that time. LWS2 and LWS3 aren’t free. Thats a faulty notion. it was never free. It was merely gifted during the two weeks it went live to the players were active and loyal AT THAT TIME.

If you joined between the last chapter of LWS2 and before Heart of Thorns.. well.. tough luck, but you weren’t a loyal and active player DURING LWS2.

If you joined before LWS2 went live, but didn’t unlock it.. well.. in all honesty: why should anet give their gifts to people who didn’t even bother to go through the login-screen for 10 seconds during a 2 week period. If you didn’t have that time during the two week period, GW2 was simply not that important to you. Its a paid product that they gifted to people who DID have the intention to log in for at least 10 seconds during that period.

If you joined later, you don’t get LWS2 and 3 for free. but retrospect, you get Core for free, which is of a much higher value than a LWS chapter.

All in all, in short: You paid for the Core game? you get the core game. You paid for HoT later, then you get HoT. LWS2 is another product that you didn’t pay for, so why should you get it? It was a product that needed to be paid for, it was simply reduced to the price of £0,00 during the two weeks

Labeling me not an active player during that timeframe would be correct. Labeling me not a loyal player is incorrect. I bought the core game just like those who were around when s2 was released. Companies don’t survive on log-ons, they survive on monetary revenue.

The rest is word lawyering at best. Attempting to define the content as a separate product, when it clearly was not – the technicality here being someone else logged in while I did not during that time. My money however, is just as green as theirs is so I should have just as much access, for having paid just as much money, for the core game.

What does this accomplish? Penalizing newer players (those who weren’t around during s2 release) who paid for the content, by asking them to pay for it specifically after they already paid for it generally. This game would attract more new players without this double standard. No need to hide the fee behind the technicality of logging in vs not logging in during a specific timeframe.

Of course, defending this practice serves to license a future mandate of more of the same. The more the community blindly defends this, the more the industry will push it.

SoV.5139:

The rest is word lawyering at best. Attempting to define the content as a separate product, when it clearly was not – the technicality here being someone else logged in while I did not during that time. My money however, is just as green as theirs is so I should have just as much access, for having paid just as much money, for the core game.

So you’re saying when you bought the core game you were promised that LWS2 was going to be a part of that product? Because I wasn’t promised that. So I assume that all future content was a seperate product. But apparantly I was wrong. I would like to know who told you that LWS2 was part of the core product, so I can ask him why people who paid for the core product now have to pay for new content that was released later

SoV.5139:

What does this accomplish? Penalizing newer players (those who weren’t around during s2 release) who paid for the content, by asking them to pay for it specifically after they already paid for it generally. This game would attract more new players without this double standard. No need to hide the fee behind the technicality of logging in vs not logging in during a specific timeframe.

‘who weren’t around during s2 release who paid for the content? no, they didn’t pay for the content. they paid for the core game or they paid for HoT+core. They didn’t pay for LWS2. You’re stuck in a loop where you think that people who paid for the core, or for HoT also paid for LWS2. They did not. LWS2 is a seperate product that requires acquisition. And to acquire it, you need to log in during the active perior OR pay an appriopate monetary value afterwards. This was advertises as such BEFORE the LWS2ch1 ever launcher. So we were never withheld any information, never cheated. All people are guilty off is not reading all the information anet provided them, and then complain afterwards about the model. Its not a fee for not logging in. it’s a reward FOR logging in.

SoV.5139:

Defenders. I’ll make it real simple.

This is how the mircotrans industry works.
F2P – want access? pay for it or consume time earning it in game
P2P – access to content.
gw2 – pay to pay to play.

They shouldn’t have to advertise that they aren’t going to double charge you for content. Not double charging for content should be the norm. This is true for most other games. I say most because if I said all some rules lawyer would find the one other game double charging happens in and ignore the other couple thousand it doesn’t happen in while fully defending this practice.

gw2 is advertised as a buy to play game, not a buy to buy to play game.

Before LWS2 they announced that to unlock each episode you had to simply log into the game while it was running. Same with LWS3. If you did not have the game at the time, the Living World Seasons may be purchased for Gems. I do not see how you believe this is double-charging for content, as it additional content outside of the game and expansion…in truth it can be viewed as an Adventure Pack or the like, much like is offered by many other MMOs for a fee and not given freely to those who log in while the season is running.

I don’t get all the whiteknighting here. The OP is absolutely right: every reasonable person would assume this content is free, so is – let’s say – southsun and other stuff. Also other added content. Imho it was a bad and unreasonable decision to make them free at release and then put it behind a paywall. I just wonder what they were thinking, it just makes new players mad.

Nonetheless they were fair that you can buy it with in game gold.

ProtoGunner.4953:

I don’t get all the whiteknighting here. The OP is absolutely right: every reasonable person would assume this content is free, so is – let’s say – southsun and other stuff. Also other added content. Imho it was a bad and unreasonable decision to make them free at release and then put it behind a paywall. I just wonder what they were thinking, it just makes new players mad.

Nonetheless they were fair that you can buy it with in game gold.

Just because people disagree with you, does not make them a white night. It would be like me saying that everyone that has a disagreement about something that Anet has done is simply a whiner. Labels like that, and what you used, have no use in discussions as they pose no relevance to what is being stated.

It was clearly stated years ago that living story episodes would be free during their initial release cycle. Nowhere does it state that they must be free and the only thing that I saw reference that was for the game itself where you may once and never again (i.e. No monthly subscription). I don’t recall it referring to additional content such as LS episodes and expansions.

Make them available for free during release encourages players to play the episodes then or at the very least take the couple minutes to log in during that window. The only content that the player is actually locked out of are the collections and achievements (for LS2). They can access the story if teamed up with someone who opens it for them. I assume the same is with LS3 which should give access to the maps if they don’t want to use a teleport to friend stone.

I look at the Living Story Seasons as DLC that you can get for free if you login while they are active. I view that as a pro rather than a con. With the original game and the expansion you get maps and the normal things that come on those maps.

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

I don’t understand your objection to my post. You understand the pricing system in the game and you just don’t like it. That’s a matter of comfort. If you are willing to accept it, great, play the game and enjoy it. If not, then you can choose not to play that content.

In a similar situation, I love the Elder Scrolls single player RPG series. I’ve played oodles of hours of every game, buying them new and sometimes paying extra for special features. And I was set to buy Skyrim up until Bethesda required I join Steam — it’s up to them to decide how they like to price stuff, but it’s my choice about for which 3rd party services I sign up.

Call it “expectation,” it’s still a question of whether you’re willing to live with the options ANet has offered.

ProtoGunner.4953:

I don’t get all the whiteknighting here.

I suggest you look up what the term ‘white knight’ actually means before you accuse everyone who doesn’t agree with the OP (or you) of whiteknighting..

People have put it quite simply. I don’t see why people are having a hard time understanding it.

The living world is not part of the “core” game. It’s a new story from what came with the core game, and as season 3 is a different story set after HoT. People payed for the Core game and got what they paid for, people got paid for HoT and got what they paid for.

Living world was not advertised as a part of the core game or HoT. We where told how ever that to access the new living world you would need to own HoT and season 2 could be bought from the gem store. The best thing about the gem store is that you can buy things from there using Gold you get in game, so it is still free, the only thing you spend to get it is time. Or if you are short oj time, spend some money. Those are the options. And the truth of the matter.

Continually defending with the claim that it was not promised as free is just more parsing and lawyering of words at this point. First off, I never asked for it for free. I asked for it to cost the same amount for me as it did for other folks. If I paid the same price I should get the same access. It is that simple.

If someone paid X dollars in 2012 and got s2 free, and I paid the same X dollars in 2014 and did not get s2 free, theres no amount of rules lawyering and word parsing that will cause this to be objectively viewed as fair. You may subjectively justify it as fair all you want, using the justification that it can be earned in game and such, but this is still not objectively correct as far as equal transaction for equal access is concerned.

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

ProtoGunner.4953:

I don’t get all the whiteknighting here.

I suggest you look up what the term ‘white knight’ actually means before you accuse everyone who doesn’t agree with the OP (or you) of whiteknighting..

Sounds like he used it correctly to me.

SoV.5139:

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

ProtoGunner.4953:

I don’t get all the whiteknighting here.

I suggest you look up what the term ‘white knight’ actually means before you accuse everyone who doesn’t agree with the OP (or you) of whiteknighting..

Sounds like he used it correctly to me.

Using it against anyone that disagrees with you is not using it correctly.

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

I don’t understand your objection to my post. You understand the pricing system in the game and you just don’t like it. That’s a matter of comfort. If you are willing to accept it, great, play the game and enjoy it. If not, then you can choose not to play that content.

In a similar situation, I love the Elder Scrolls single player RPG series. I’ve played oodles of hours of every game, buying them new and sometimes paying extra for special features. And I was set to buy Skyrim up until Bethesda required I join Steam — it’s up to them to decide how they like to price stuff, but it’s my choice about for which 3rd party services I sign up.

Call it “expectation,” it’s still a question of whether you’re willing to live with the options ANet has offered.

The “if you don’t like it leave” argument doesn’t keep businesses open. All I’m asking for is equal transaction meaning equal access, and pointing out how that’s not the case here, even though I paid the same for the game as others, and my money is just as green.

While I do think that they are being generous to both veterans and current new people in how it’s either free upon login or can be bought with gold, with the next LS they might need to bundle the old LS’s together, either for a discount or even free.

People who are buying the game right now only need to buy LS2. However after the next expansion it will be LS2 and LS3 then after that it will be LS2, 3, and 4, and so on. Since the vets will be getting them free we/they won’t feel the need to spend the money for buying multiple LS’s or the need to farm the gold for past LS seasons where others got a free pass. Eventually however it’s going to be a true price wall for new people to buy each LS seasons, and a price wall is something ANet doesn’t want as it discourages new people from staying and playing.

So, the OP does have a point. Even though it’s not a pressing issue at this time, in the future if left unchanged it will become an substantial extra cost for content, achievement points and mastery points for new people that vets don’t have to pay and could well be something that stops new players from fully investing in the game.

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

I don’t understand your objection to my post. You understand the pricing system in the game and you just don’t like it. That’s a matter of comfort. If you are willing to accept it, great, play the game and enjoy it. If not, then you can choose not to play that content.

In a similar situation, I love the Elder Scrolls single player RPG series. I’ve played oodles of hours of every game, buying them new and sometimes paying extra for special features. And I was set to buy Skyrim up until Bethesda required I join Steam — it’s up to them to decide how they like to price stuff, but it’s my choice about for which 3rd party services I sign up.

Call it “expectation,” it’s still a question of whether you’re willing to live with the options ANet has offered.

The “if you don’t like it leave” argument doesn’t keep businesses open. All I’m asking for is equal transaction meaning equal access, and pointing out how that’s not the case here, even though I paid the same for the game as others, and my money is just as green.

Were the living story episodes listed as part of HoT? Did they state that all those who purchased HoT would have full access to those episodes?

Just a flesh wound.3589:

While I do think that they are being generous to both veterans and current new people in how it’s either free upon login or can be bought with gold, with the next LS they might need to bundle the old LS’s together, either for a discount or even free.

People who are buying the game right now only need to buy LS2. However after the next expansion it will be LS2 and LS3 then after that it will be LS2, 3, and 4, and so on. Since the vets will be getting them free we/they won’t feel the need to spend the money for buying multiple LS’s or the need to farm the gold for past LS seasons where others got a free pass. Eventually however it’s going to be a true price wall for new people to buy each LS seasons, and a price wall is something ANet doesn’t want as it discourages new people from staying and playing.

So, the OP does have a point. Even though it’s not a pressing issue at this time, in the future if left unchanged it will become an substantial extra cost for content, achievement points and mastery points for new people that vets don’t have to pay and could well be something that stops new players from fully investing in the game.

Maybe once season 3 ends, have season 2 on a permanent 50% off?

Ayrilana.1396:

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

I don’t understand your objection to my post. You understand the pricing system in the game and you just don’t like it. That’s a matter of comfort. If you are willing to accept it, great, play the game and enjoy it. If not, then you can choose not to play that content.

In a similar situation, I love the Elder Scrolls single player RPG series. I’ve played oodles of hours of every game, buying them new and sometimes paying extra for special features. And I was set to buy Skyrim up until Bethesda required I join Steam — it’s up to them to decide how they like to price stuff, but it’s my choice about for which 3rd party services I sign up.

Call it “expectation,” it’s still a question of whether you’re willing to live with the options ANet has offered.

The “if you don’t like it leave” argument doesn’t keep businesses open. All I’m asking for is equal transaction meaning equal access, and pointing out how that’s not the case here, even though I paid the same for the game as others, and my money is just as green.

Were the living story episodes listed as part of HoT? Did they state that all those who purchased HoT would have full access to those episodes?

Some got them free in the past and nowdays we don’t. The fact that they didn’t say it wouldn’t be free doesn’t hold water (and is more parsing of words) when they clearly set the expectation otherwise in the past. This will get worse and worse for newer players as the game progresses. Example: when s5 is out, will the expectation for a new player be purchase s2-s4, or will they all be getting history lessons like g2w did for s1? Will a new player during s5 be expected to pay for the game, whatever expansions are out, then s2-4, when it is fully known that people in the past got it free because they started playing earlier on but paid the same price? How will a b2p game survive that way?

I didn’t just purchase HoT, I purchased the core game as well.
Past: core game purchase + logging in = free s2
Now: core game purchase + not having been around when s2 launched = b2p s2.
Objectively not an equal transaction.

Either a newer players money is as green as older players money, or it isn’t. cant parse words to have it both ways by saying since they didn’t say it would be free its ok to give it to some free but not all, for the same cash transaction.

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

SoV.5139:

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

This is not a question of facts, it’s a matter of comfort. The airlines advertise (nearly) all their costs upfront, but that doesn’t make me feel good about how they seem to nickel and dime us for every little thing.

The OP doesn’t care if ANet has clearly explained that Living Stories are free only for those logging in during each episode, they don’t care that they can unlock the content with gold — they simply don’t like it.

Fortunately, the OP has a choice: if this really bothers them, they can simply not play GW2. Or, if they really like GW2, then they can put up with this irksome wall between them and some of the content they’d like to try.

Comfort? I call it expectation. I paid just as much for the core content as anyone who was around when it first went live. Why wouldn’t I be allowed the same access? If I was a brand new player who joined up when the core content was made f2p and did not pay for the core content, then Id expect to pay for content. Since I paid for the core game in the past, access should not be limited, just as it was not limited for those who paid for the game in the past, but logged on when the story went live.

Ask people who didn’t already pay, to pay. Don’t ask people who already paid, but didn’t log on during a specific time period, to pay twice.

I don’t understand your objection to my post. You understand the pricing system in the game and you just don’t like it. That’s a matter of comfort. If you are willing to accept it, great, play the game and enjoy it. If not, then you can choose not to play that content.

In a similar situation, I love the Elder Scrolls single player RPG series. I’ve played oodles of hours of every game, buying them new and sometimes paying extra for special features. And I was set to buy Skyrim up until Bethesda required I join Steam — it’s up to them to decide how they like to price stuff, but it’s my choice about for which 3rd party services I sign up.

Call it “expectation,” it’s still a question of whether you’re willing to live with the options ANet has offered.

The “if you don’t like it leave” argument doesn’t keep businesses open. All I’m asking for is equal transaction meaning equal access, and pointing out how that’s not the case here, even though I paid the same for the game as others, and my money is just as green.

You are, in fact, asking for different access than what was offered to you. You are parsing and lawyering everyone else’s phrasing to suit your own agenda.

It might or might not be smart of ANet to only make Living Stories free to those playing when each episode is available, but it is their choice — not mine, not yours. We get to choose whether or not to buy their games, expansions, and gem shop items and how much effort we’re willing to go through to jump over the gates they’ve erected.

As I said in my original response, I do not criticize you for objecting to ANet’s pricing. You don’t have to like it. I’m not asking you to change your mind about whether you think it’s a bad business practice.

All the same, LS2 was never offered as part of the price of HoT, even if it’s completely reasonable to want that to be true or think that it should be.