Definition of Pay2Win
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
Like Heart of Thorns then. Interesting.
HoT is both buy2play and pay2win since it does include anything other than pvp stuffs.
Since we re focusing on balancing stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve content which is b2p, thus is p2w.
My Stream : http://www.twitch.tv/eSportsKorea see me vs Tarcis, Chaith, Crysis and etc!
(edited by online.1278)
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
cod is pay win not buy play. Let’s say I have aquite a cover of the new cod with no cd inside,Hence I am not able to play. Mind you I have the cover. However. My friend who spent 60 dollars on his can play the game? How is this not p2w From day 1. I would have won 0 games since I don’t have the CD (mind you I have the cover) but my friend can win games because he bought bought the CD and the cover …
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
Like Heart of Thorns then. Interesting.
HoT is both buy2play and pay2win since it does include anything other than pvp stuffs.
Since we re focusing on balancing stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve content which is b2p, thus is p2w.
I guess with that you d also agree with me that since on COD or BF some adds or xpax introduce new weapons ,new cars, whom are very powerfully than regular one (unlike core specs and elite specs in gw2. Since that match up comes down to skills) then COD is Def a p2w.
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
cod is pay win not buy play. Let’s say I have aquite a cover of the new cod with no cd inside,Hence I am not able to play. Mind you I have the cover. However. My friend who spent 60 dollars on his can play the game? How is this not p2w From day 1. I would have won 0 games since I don’t have the CD (mind you I have the cover) but my friend can win games because he bought bought the CD and the cover …
I have never played cod before.
But if game do requires you to pay st that will increase your winrate, that is p2w.
If CoD does that and also requires you to have a copy of game to play, then both b2w and p2w rules applies.
Our HoT exoansion also applies both p2w and b2p, since you need to have expansion to play its content and also increase your winrate. but since we talk about balance stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve stuffs, which is about b2p, thus only p2w remains. Thus is p2w.
Proof completed.
My Stream : http://www.twitch.tv/eSportsKorea see me vs Tarcis, Chaith, Crysis and etc!
(edited by online.1278)
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
Like Heart of Thorns then. Interesting.
HoT is both buy2play and pay2win since it does include anything other than pvp stuffs.
Since we re focusing on balancing stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve content which is b2p, thus is p2w.
Still doesn’t make sense. This entire situation is contradictory. Until recently there was a group of people that did not have access to PvP at all, which was apparently fine, and by giving them access to PvP for free there is now the complaint that they need to spend money because not absolutely everything is being given for free.
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
cod is pay win not buy play. Let’s say I have aquite a cover of the new cod with no cd inside,Hence I am not able to play. Mind you I have the cover. However. My friend who spent 60 dollars on his can play the game? How is this not p2w From day 1. I would have won 0 games since I don’t have the CD (mind you I have the cover) but my friend can win games because he bought bought the CD and the cover …
I have never played cod before.
But if game do requires you to buy st that will increase your winrate, that is p2w.
If CoD does that and also requires you to have a copy of game to play, then both b2w and p2w rules applies.
Our HoT exoansion also applies both p2w and b2p, since you need to have expansion to play its content and also increase your winrate. but since we talk about balance stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve stuffs, which is about b2p, thus only p2w remains. Thus is p2w.
Proof completed.
But anet doesn’t require you to buy a copy of their game to play normal pvp?? And 90% of the elite specs are ON PAR with cores specs. So how is gw2 anything like COD or heartstone or Lol.
And on xpax increasing your winrate?? Where is the data?? Lordseth. Shin, and most pro on twitch have being alternating between elite specs and cores specs and their winrate hasn’t change that much if anything it has improved ( especially gs hammer build).
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
cod is pay win not buy play. Let’s say I have aquite a cover of the new cod with no cd inside,Hence I am not able to play. Mind you I have the cover. However. My friend who spent 60 dollars on his can play the game? How is this not p2w From day 1. I would have won 0 games since I don’t have the CD (mind you I have the cover) but my friend can win games because he bought bought the CD and the cover …
I have never played cod before.
But if game do requires you to buy st that will increase your winrate, that is p2w.
If CoD does that and also requires you to have a copy of game to play, then both b2w and p2w rules applies.
Our HoT exoansion also applies both p2w and b2p, since you need to have expansion to play its content and also increase your winrate. but since we talk about balance stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve stuffs, which is about b2p, thus only p2w remains. Thus is p2w.
Proof completed.
But anet doesn’t require you to buy a copy of their game to play normal pvp?? And 90% of the elite specs are ON PAR with cores specs. So how is gw2 anything like COD or heartstone or Lol.
And on xpax increasing your winrate?? Where is the data?? Lordseth. Shin, and most pro on twitch have being alternating between elite specs and cores specs and their winrate hasn’t change that much if anything it has improved ( especially gs hammer build).
It is already proved that having HoT greatly improves your winrate against Core. if you cant believe just go dueling arena with core spec and try to duel reaper, druid, scrapper or rev. specific data doesm’t even need to be measured becuz it is just too obvious. If you can’t even distinguish the OP difference between core and HoT, i wouldn’t say a thing becuz that is your level.
Chrono and berzerker are sucks at lowest tier level even in elite specs, thus they will not find that much difference by switching between elite and core spec if they play zerker or chrono. (but i believe elite spec of those two is still slightly OPer than core)
However, when it comes to other than those 2, such as scrapper, rev, reaper and druid, the thing become too obvious that you should realize. If you can’t realize i wouldn’t say a single thing for you.
My Stream : http://www.twitch.tv/eSportsKorea see me vs Tarcis, Chaith, Crysis and etc!
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
Like Heart of Thorns then. Interesting.
HoT is both buy2play and pay2win since it does include anything other than pvp stuffs.
Since we re focusing on balancing stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve content which is b2p, thus is p2w.
Thats some pretty strong mental gymnastics, are you on a national team?
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
No use posting. These guys think HoT IS the game in its entirety and not simply an addition.
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
No use posting. These guys think HoT IS the game in its entirety and not simply an addition.
Correct. HoT IS the main game indeed, while the F2P part is the addition, just something extra to grab a few people here and there. Certainly not the other way around.
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
No use posting. These guys think HoT IS the game in its entirety and not simply an addition.
Correct. HoT IS the main game indeed, while the F2P part is the addition, just something extra to grab a few people here and there. Certainly not the other way around.
Because HoT ISN’T an expansion, correct? Expansions simply overtake the main game and become the main game themselves. Sounds legit
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
cod is pay win not buy play. Let’s say I have aquite a cover of the new cod with no cd inside,Hence I am not able to play. Mind you I have the cover. However. My friend who spent 60 dollars on his can play the game? How is this not p2w From day 1. I would have won 0 games since I don’t have the CD (mind you I have the cover) but my friend can win games because he bought bought the CD and the cover …
You’re not losing either, so nope, no dice.
Remember, remember, 15th of November
(edited by Astralporing.1957)
Expansions simply overtake the main game and become the main game themselves. Sounds legit
Couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s how MMO expansions tend to work, they add new features and completely rebalance everything while the rest of the game becomes an afterthought. When was the last time somebody did Burning Crusade content seriously?
Expansions simply overtake the main game and become the main game themselves. Sounds legit
Couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s how MMO expansions tend to work, they add new features and completely rebalance everything while the rest of the game becomes an afterthought. When was the last time somebody did Burning Crusade content seriously?
So why call it an expansion at all then? Why not call it a sequel or part 3 of the game? I’ve never played WoW, so I don’t make much of a comment here, but the people I’ve spoken to about it tell me that each xpac brings about a huge amount of power creep. Just because it happened elsewhere doesn’t mean it should happen here.
I mean, the way I see it like is if you “expand” the boundaries of your home by simply adding a few more rooms. The rooms are additions to the house and not the house itself.
So why call it an expansion at all then? Why not call it a sequel or part 3 of the game? .
Expansions are the mmo equivalent of a sequel. However since mmos thrive on the idea of a perpetual game, the old game isn’t removed it’s just depreciated.
Heck in the early days of MMOs expansions where often sold in physical boxes.
YouTube
(edited by Crinn.7864)
Well alright but my point still stnads, I hope.
I mean, the way I see it like is if you “expand” the boundaries of your home by simply adding a few more rooms. The rooms are additions to the house and not the house itself.
If I expand the radius of a circle I have a larger circle, the original circle can fit inside but the shape you now have is the larger circle.
That’d be an OK analogy if you could differentiate which part of the circle is the original part and which is the expanded section.
That’d be an OK analogy if you could differentiate which part of the circle is the original part and which is the expanded section.
Well lets use your analogy, once the house has the extra rooms can you go buy it without them? Nope, just like HoT they are part of the game from now on and cannot be bought without.
The game is HoT+Core now, you cannot get Core alone any more. There is only the big circle and those who have yet to buy or upgrade.
That’d be an OK analogy if you could differentiate which part of the circle is the original part and which is the expanded section.
Well lets use your analogy, once the house has the extra rooms can you go buy it without them? Nope, just like HoT they are part of the game from now on and cannot be bought without.
The game is HoT+Core now, you cannot get Core alone any more. There is only the big circle and those who have yet to buy or upgrade.
This … end of the discussion. . It has been proven that HOT or GW2 is not p2w is b2p..
That’d be an OK analogy if you could differentiate which part of the circle is the original part and which is the expanded section.
Well lets use your analogy, once the house has the extra rooms can you go buy it without them? Nope, just like HoT they are part of the game from now on and cannot be bought without.
The game is HoT+Core now, you cannot get Core alone any more. There is only the big circle and those who have yet to buy or upgrade.
Fair enough. I suppose I simply mixed the power creep for pay2win.
It seems like the “pay to win” term is becoming broader and broader. I guess we can start including games like counter-strike, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six in there since in order to win you need to have the game, and in order to have the game, you need to pay so there you go.
that is buy2play, not pay2win
Like Heart of Thorns then. Interesting.
HoT is both buy2play and pay2win since it does include anything other than pvp stuffs.
Since we re focusing on balancing stuffs on pvp forum, we disregard pve content which is b2p, thus is p2w.
Actually, if you buy the game you Also buy the HoT expansion, all in one.
Then, you say that if you are a pre-HoT player HoT is a Pay2Win but if you’re a new player HoT is a Buy2Play?
That don’t make sense!
You should post this in the pve section where it belongs, spvp was meant to be a level playing field not a p2w spam fest.
Actually cxorrection isn’t p2w at all
this would be like Not buying Catacylsm from WoTLK in WoW and Complaining about fighting level 85s at 80 who have new skills u have 0 access too.
PvP Should be JUST as restricted by expansion as PvE, to make it fair.
How is it fair to say “if u pvp it costs 0 but if u wanna pve oh god.. u gotta pay”.. no a game that one sided would be Unjustified and tbh Persicuting Players for their Enjoyment and Playstyle
no the game Should be equally hit from Every area of the game
go play a MoBA or get over it Simplez.
This is such a dumb thread, its a shame people would rather argue semantics than discuss the actual issues surrounding sPvP and its very much unarguable pricing model.
Almost everyone calling for improved accessibility to elite specs own HoT, but want to see GW2 sPvP compete with bigger, more profitable competitive multiplayer games.
Unfortunately people seem to be focusing on comparing sPvP to WoW.
How are you doing that? Why are you doing that?
There is of course only one answer. sPvP is just a minigame to you, you great and wise MMO player.
Esportz 2016? The dream is real.
Phaatonn, London UK
(edited by Phaeton.9582)
This is such a dumb thread, its a shame people would rather argue semantics than discuss the actual issues surrounding sPvP and its very much unarguable pricing model.
Almost everyone calling for improved accessibility to elite specs own HoT, but want to see GW2 sPvP compete with bigger, more profitable competitive multiplayer games.
Unfortunately people seem to be focusing on comparing sPvP to WoW.
How are you doing that? Why are you doing that?
There is of course only one answer. sPvP is just a minigame to you, you great and wise MMO player.
Esportz 2016? The dream is real.
You are the one who is dancing around the bush HOT is GW2. And GW2 is an MMO not a MOBA due to PVE. Lastly,let me remind you that gw2 is spvp. Wvw and pve together.
This is such a dumb thread, its a shame people would rather argue semantics than discuss the actual issues surrounding sPvP and its very much unarguable pricing model.
Almost everyone calling for improved accessibility to elite specs own HoT, but want to see GW2 sPvP compete with bigger, more profitable competitive multiplayer games.
Unfortunately people seem to be focusing on comparing sPvP to WoW.
How are you doing that? Why are you doing that?
There is of course only one answer. sPvP is just a minigame to you, you great and wise MMO player.
Esportz 2016? The dream is real.
You are the one who is dancing around the bush HOT is GW2. And GW2 is an MMO not a MOBA due to PVE. Lastly,let me remind you that gw2 is spvp. Wvw and pve together.
Clearly this topic is about sPvP. So the discussions therein should be about sPvP.
Furthermore, this is primarily an issue for sPvP as the early game and late game content aren’t distinct, essentially making this new f2p>b2p model pretty flawed here.
Nobody is arguing that the wider GW2 game isn’t B2P, which means I guess there is a second possible answer to my previous question.
2. Inability to read English and/or assimilate arguments logically.
Now I better peace before my neck develops a nasty, mottled beard.
Phaatonn, London UK
Please tell me game where not buying an expansion DIDN’T put you at a disadvantage.
Hello this IS A MMORPG, EVERY MMORPG has ALWAYS required you to get the expansion to stay relevant.
Well it isn’t P2W in the sense something like Runes of Magic is where basically the more money someone spends the more of an advantage they get, on the other hand I can see why people say GW2 is pay to win in a different way.
It isn’t as simply as saying expansions are required, the issue with GW2 is them marketing it as F2P when really it isn’t, it is more of a glorified free trial, actual F2P games enable F2P players to obtain expansions without paying for them, e.g in LOTRO (at least back when I played long ago and it still had subs), the F2P players could grind out Turbine points to buy the new character classes and if they were really insane enough to get the expansion, so I can see why people look at the expansion with the much stronger elites and no way to obtain that other than paying, as P2W.
See thats the thing anet is NOT marketing the game as f2p they specifically called it “play for free” not “free to play” the distinction is that the game is NOT free, but you can play for free to try it out.
You are not intended to play for free the entire time, there are players who ONLY pvp so giving away expansion content (elite specs) for free in spvp is not fair to people who payed, and its not fair to anet. You cant just pick and choose which features you want and declare they should be free just because it would be convenient to players who arnt even supprting the game and developers by buying the full game.
Its literally ONLY because anet was nice enough to allow people to play for free that these complaints are surfacing
Give them an inch and they will take a mile
Its literally ONLY because anet was nice enough to allow people to play for free that these complaints are surfacing…
Not really, instead of being honest and saying they were adding a free trial (be it a glorified one), they hyped it up as ‘free to play’, they brought the complaints upon themselves.
(edited by zinkz.7045)
Its literally ONLY because anet was nice enough to allow people to play for free that these complaints are surfacing…
Not really, instead of being honest and saying they were adding a free trial (be it a glorified one), they hyped it up as ‘free to play’, they brought the complaints upon themselves.
No they didnt hype it up as “free to play”, they very specifically choose the phrasing “play for free” for this exact purpose, to stress that it is still a buy to play game, and you CAN play for free to try it out
And not only that, but the official post from anet where they announced play for free also specifically says that the reason they are doing this is to let new players try the game so that if they like it enough they will BUY HEART OF THORNS. It says right in the official announcement that they intend players to buy the full game if they plan to stick around
People are now just realizing that elite specs are better than core specs? I’ve been saying this since heart of thorns launch. It’s an obvious cash grab. Literally every elite spec is worth taking over a core spec. You think this is some coincidence?
Its literally ONLY because anet was nice enough to allow people to play for free that these complaints are surfacing…
Not really, instead of being honest and saying they were adding a free trial (be it a glorified one), they hyped it up as ‘free to play’, they brought the complaints upon themselves.
No they didnt hype it up as “free to play”, they very specifically choose the phrasing “play for free” for this exact purpose, to stress that it is still a buy to play game, and you CAN play for free to try it out
And not only that, but the official post from anet where they announced play for free also specifically says that the reason they are doing this is to let new players try the game so that if they like it enough they will BUY HEART OF THORNS. It says right in the official announcement that they intend players to buy the full game if they plan to stick around
This is like the most ridiculous argument I have ever read.
You are saying that every “free to play” game that exists can add as many pay to win features as they want, including stuff like permanent stat boosts, or a literal one time use button which will automatically count a match as a win, as long as they rename their model to “play for free”? Marketing must be like the easiest job ever.
Its literally ONLY because anet was nice enough to allow people to play for free that these complaints are surfacing…
Not really, instead of being honest and saying they were adding a free trial (be it a glorified one), they hyped it up as ‘free to play’, they brought the complaints upon themselves.
No they didnt hype it up as “free to play”, they very specifically choose the phrasing “play for free” for this exact purpose, to stress that it is still a buy to play game, and you CAN play for free to try it out
And not only that, but the official post from anet where they announced play for free also specifically says that the reason they are doing this is to let new players try the game so that if they like it enough they will BUY HEART OF THORNS. It says right in the official announcement that they intend players to buy the full game if they plan to stick around
This is like the most ridiculous argument I have ever read.
You are saying that every “free to play” game that exists can add as many pay to win features as they want, including stuff like permanent stat boosts, or a literal one time use button which will automatically count a match as a win, as long as they rename their model to “play for free”? Marketing must be like the easiest job ever.
No im saying every BUY to play game has every right to exclude features from anyone who didnt BUY the game, and the amount of the content the game developers allow to be accessed for free still doesnt change the fact that if you want the full game you have to purchase it
Its literally ONLY because anet was nice enough to allow people to play for free that these complaints are surfacing…
Not really, instead of being honest and saying they were adding a free trial (be it a glorified one), they hyped it up as ‘free to play’, they brought the complaints upon themselves.
No they didnt hype it up as “free to play”, they very specifically choose the phrasing “play for free” for this exact purpose, to stress that it is still a buy to play game, and you CAN play for free to try it out
And not only that, but the official post from anet where they announced play for free also specifically says that the reason they are doing this is to let new players try the game so that if they like it enough they will BUY HEART OF THORNS. It says right in the official announcement that they intend players to buy the full game if they plan to stick around
This is like the most ridiculous argument I have ever read.
You are saying that every “free to play” game that exists can add as many pay to win features as they want, including stuff like permanent stat boosts, or a literal one time use button which will automatically count a match as a win, as long as they rename their model to “play for free”? Marketing must be like the easiest job ever.
No im saying every BUY to play game has every right to exclude features from anyone who didnt BUY the game, and the amount of the content the game developers allow to be accessed for free still doesnt change the fact that if you want the full game you have to purchase it
This... you have summed it up nicely my friend
Anet can’t win here. They offer a model that only requires a one time payment aka buying HoT for what…30 bucks? Yet there’s tons of f2p games out there where it’s pay to win in its extreme where I’ve heard of players paying 10,000 US dollars or more to get ahead. A one time payment of 30 bucks and you’re golden…and people still complain? Really? Get a job or mooch off your parents credit card. GTFO with your whining. If you can’t even afford 30 bucks, then this game is the least of your worries right now.
@Lettuce
You haven’t understood a single point of this whole discussion, did you?
Remember, remember, 15th of November
This topic goes both ways just due to the nature of sPvP. In pvp it doesn’t matter if you are a beta player or a day 1 rookie. Both your stats will be identical. (Assuming you are using the same build) A-net wants pvp to be equal opportunity matches. Everyone had access to the same stats and builds regardless of their experience and time invested. But with the addition of HoT, the sPvP no longer is equal opportunity matches ss not everyone has access to all stats and builds. Now you are giving an advantage (extra skills) to people who bought the expansion.
On the other hand WvW is not designed to be a equal opportunity playground. The more people you bring the more chances of winning you have. Someone who grinded and is fighting with ascended gear will have an advantage over someone scaled up to 80 with lvl 50 rare gear. In this case we can consider it as "hey its an expansion, doesn’t count as pay to win, its an addition to the core game required to introduce more content of end game play. (Same for pve)
Do you consider every game that has an expansion to it as pay to win? No… You don’t…
Again the only issue here is the sPvP game mode that does not fit the MMO Standards of gameplay and instead looks closer to smite or league of legends / DOTA2
If you want to compare it to WoW arena, last time I checked they don’t level out the gear and stats and levels so everyone is on an even playground like GW2 CLAIMS to have.
tl;dr. sPvP is P2Wsimply due to anets vision on the gamemode… WvW and PvE are B2P following MMO standards
This whole P2W bullkitten just shows how so many people have entitlement issues. You are not entitled to free content. You buy the game, this means the expansion too, and you get to play it for free. Grow up children.
First of all gw2 was supposed to be different then other mmos. The whole reason i bought this game was for the “level playing field” and the fact i didn’t have to grind levels for pvp.
I also believed the lies that the expansion would just be a “different way to play” now it turns out the hot builds are more powerful over the pre-hot core builds then anybody could have even imagined. And to add insult to injury they refuse to balance them!! For that reason i’m boycotting hot and quitting the game like most people already have. WvW totally died, and pvp lost half its players in the first month. Anet admitted this publicly and tried to tell people that is was cause crossover players were playing PVE. Well guess what, none of those players ever came back. What does anet have to say now?
Second of all, this game is FREE to play, and PAY to win. Do some people not realize this game went free to play? Why do they keep saying you have to buy the game? Even though everyone posting here already did. Are some of you selfish greedy players truly feeling some false sense of entitlement because you spent more money on it then others? That’s the death of e-sport viability, the whole reason i bought this game.
Imo anet knew this was going to kill this game but wanted to milk it and cash out with their golden parachute. They sold out and planned to be done with this game a long time ago. I bet most of their employees don’t even realize this yet.
(edited by CooloutAC.3451)
Most MMO’s have ridiculous powercreep. As new content drops, levels rise, builds, gear, skills and combinations get stronger, and so do the enemies they are facing. The previous parts of the game stay around for the new players but after a while the leveling process is often streamlined, somewhat culled or even cut out all together with the ability to buy fully leveled and geared characters.
Guild Wars 2 did not raise the level cap. They have not been adding in stronger gear bit by bit. Elite specs were supposed to be “different” but not introduce powercreep. They did. This is a problem for PvP, personal entitlements not withstanding, because players who HAVE will be playing players who HAVE NOT. This is not balanced or enjoyable for anyone.