Guild Wars 2

I am a casual player that has played on and off since launch and I would like to write my general thoughts on the matter:

I have no problem with the pricetag on the Standard offer (I will not talk about the deluxe and ultimate edition in my post). Sure, it errs towards being a bit more expensive than expected and I don’t yet feel the need to pre-purchase HoT, mainly because there are still many unknowns and no release date. I will probably buy it still because I’m confident I will get my moneys worth, but that is just my personal opinion.

That said, I believe the main causes for the current debate is the perception from the community and somewhat flawed communication/marketing from Anet.

The base game is included for free as a bonus for new player. This is a fact that has been confirmed here on the forums and on other social networks. However, on the buy page it is stated that the standard offer includes Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns and Guild Wars 2 core game.
It is a great deal for new player which i would recommend for anyone looking to get started. And an influx of new players is always good for the franchise and the game.
For current player like me however it reads that I am about to buy two products, not one. Nowhere is it stated that the included coregame isn’t aimed at me, and if I weren’t reading the forums/ following the facebook page I would never know that. It says Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns expansion(includes Guild Wars 2 core game) which might be interpreted in severeal ways, especially for a non-english player like me.

With the Revenant being on of the main features to come with the expansion, I found it suprising that it doesn’t seem like HoT includes an extra character slot like i assumed. Sure, Arenanet doesn’t owe us that extra slot and has never made that promise, but it felt natural that i would be included. Imagine that I am excited to try out the new proffesion only to find that I either has to delete one of my existing characters or go through an additional purchase to get an extra slot, whether it is with actual money och with time grinding ingame gold. It gives me an odd and negative experience.

In short, the Standard offer feels like a product more aimed to a newer audience which will get significant more value with two products for one price.
I won’t make the case that Veteran players is being scammed because I feel it has been clarified that the pricetag is for the expansion only, which I accept.
Mostly im confused about the value disparity between the two groups of customers and the signals that are sent with the Heart of Thorns-product.

I have cofidence that Arenanet always do their best to make Guild Wars 2 the best game as possible, and it is important that we as a community continue to give feedback and constructive criticism in order to help along the way.

Sorry for my english and have a lovely day!

Just a curious question here. If you have a character that you have invested time, gear and perhaps a legendary or two in, what would suddenly make you want to change your race?

I think all of them are fun so I had a hard time to choose, but ele won out in the end. Dual daggers is just crazy fun!
Still, I’m surprised that warriors is placed so low considering how many I see ingame.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I personally think these kind of topics are very interesting! >.<
(I do believe the term Major race is more fitting. my mistake.)

The ability to mingle and interact with other races in a non-hostile, if not peaceful manner seem to be a key factor for reaching the level were looking at. This seems to be an obstacle in particular for the dredge, centaur and krait. The isolated Tengu and reclusive Largos is capable of interacton but far below the desired level.
The Kodan however, while not hostile, seems almost too proud of a race to converse with other races in a more open manner, and is mentioned to be reluctant to ask for help against the icebrood. Had they not been a diminished race, would their attitude prevent them from being major?

Some of you mentioned unity as a factor. While it is true that more or less all races has a renegade faction, the issue of the Flame legion comes up. Despite raging constant war against the unified forces of the remaining legions for 250 years, while at the same time deal with the ascalonian ghosts who plauges the land, they are still holding their ground. We don’t know the full extent of any single legion, but this would seem to indicate that the FL holds a fair share of the total charr-population. Is charr a unified race? This might also apply to sylvari to a lesser extent with the NCourt. Is the Sylvari in a civil war?
In contrast we have the Krait which seems to be more or less fully united (although I’m not sure if the recent Toxic krait is considered a renegade factor from the whole).

Another factor mentioned is a society that is advanced/structured in some way. How do we judge this, purely technological or are we looking at something else? The asura and charr has certainly contributed with major innovations in recent centuries/decades and the human has historically shown to be able of massive accomplishments (The Great wall, DR, Ebonhawke). How do we evaluate the sylvari, which is primarily plantsbased?
The norn are shown to be able to raise impressive structures as shown with Hoelbrak, but what else stands out? also worth to note is that the norn does not have a official nation. It is more of a general area which is inhabited by the majority of the norn population.
The Krait and Dredge are certainly able of large scale constructions, and the dredge engineering seems to be on par with charr at least.
Sadly all we have seen from the centaurs are war camps, but they seems to be of an advanced military mind which is effectively putting heavy pressure on the Seraph, seeing as they have been able to push the frontline very deep into Kryta.

The current major races are certainly influential. Sylvari, not counting the recently formed Pact, seemed to be the only race unified to effectively combat the threat of the dragons and showing up accordingly near Risen areas. Asura have more or less terraformed their province to their liking and their inventions reaching all over the continent. Charr has fiercely defined what is their territory and defends it with all their might. The human nation of Kryta, while not large ingame, I believe is very large in lore if I remember correctly.
The Shiverpeaks tho are a interesting area. The Norn have claimed the old territories previously held by the dwarves and is considered the dominating race, but the Dregde seems sometimes to have a larger reach and firmer hold of the mountains. What does the Norn bring to the table?

(The reason I asked the question here in the first place is that I pondered how Sylvari could rise up to be a major race in a mere 25 years.)

The playable races (Human, Charr, Norn, Asura and Sylvari) are frequently referred to as “The five great races of Tyria” by Anet and ingame(?).
So I was curious lorewise what criteria should be met before a race could be acknowledged by the general tyrian population as great. Any ideas?