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Dear Regina and others at ArenaNet,
Let me first say that I love this game and admire your resolve to tackle new ideas and make this game better at each update. I am not going to rage on this issue, but instead provide a suggestion for how to address this for future holiday events.
I think the major issue here is that the way that the rare items were rewarded here were tied to both chance AND real-world currency. In the past I have read in the GW2 blog that the gem system was going to allow ppl with disposable income a way to short-cut through the grind of getting that rare item. On the other hand, those who don’t want to spend the money on gems can just invest game time and eventually have a path to achieve the same rare item.
In this instance, ppl with disposable income only had a chance to purchase the rare item. And although it was stated that this was a chance, nobody knew what that chance was and so they spent alot of money for nothing.
My proposal:
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1.) Rare holiday skins should be straight up purchased from BLTC. I’d advise researching price points and would direct your research to LOTRO’s model as I always felt it was “reasonable”. Something like $9.95 for a single skin makes sense to me as that was what costumes costed in GW12.) If you desire to keep the randomness approach, I would suggest going the same route as purchasing mini-pets from BLTC. Basically someone can buy a bag that contains a random skin. If it’s not the one they want, then they can sell it to someone who wants it and take that profit to buy the skin you actually do want.
3.) To keep with the theme that if you don’t have disposable income there is still a path to get that item… Make these rare skins random drops from dungeon chests or even monster drops. A drop rate of 2% on dungeon chests and 0.1% on monster drops is feasible to me. It reminds me of the mini-polar bear in GW1. People were running the snowman dungeon for ages just to get that thing and I think it would apply here as well.
To me, this is the only system that makes sense. People who want to buy cosmetic items should be spending much more than $10 to get want the want. And for those who want to earn it in game… Play the game! When that rare item just drops in your lap there are very few things in this world that can match that level of excitement
Anyways, I hope you will consider this idea for future holidays like Christmas.
Thank You,
Terrell
Terrell states this better than anyone has so far out of this (now) 24-page thread. However, at this point, I would agree that in order to “fix” this absolute PR and customer relations disaster, ANet should simply release the skins for free or by doing some sort of quest (maybe give each player a skin of their choice once finishing all 4 acts). The reason I say this is because a lot of players have disposed of their tonics and boosters (I have over 200 tonics and about 100 boosters, so I am not fighting for myself here) not knowing they would one day be useful (especially the tonics).
The next 72 hours or so will be crucial in terms of ANet’s decision on how to fix this. Whatever they choose, they could potentially lose thousands of customers who have grown up recognizing the all too familiar stench of 21st century corporate greed. This is the very reason I haven’t bought an EA game in almost 10 years.
You walk into a casino knowing the odds and paying for the entertainment. With a virtual vanity item that isn’t advertised as being rare in the first place, any and all players should expect to receive what they want if they pay $20+ in real life money for it. Geez…we didn’t even get candy corn or trick-or-treat bags from all those BLC’s.
Only time will tell…I’m gonna go grab some popcorn and wait this one out.