I think exclusivity, unless it is tied to a skill test, is pointless. It’s a video game, played by hundreds of thousands of players. Trying to be a special snowflake is meaningless.
For the record, I’ve been here since the first beta weekend, and have my share of items that are no longer available in game, so this isn’t just sour grapes.
But, what about bragging rights, proving I was there, etc?
Why does anyone need to “prove they were there”. Do you think newcomers really care that you played the game a year before they did? Aren’t your memories of enjoying it at the time enough? You really need some sort of shiny to make the experience meaningful? This “need to prove I was there” is akin to the bizarre urge to constantly photograph things rather than experience them when sight seeing, or the need to keep up with the neighbors in price of car and the vibrant green of your lawn.
But, won’t everyone look the same if everyone can get all the armor and weapon skins?
Only the people who jump on the most recent items. Sure, for the month after a new skin is released, every other character in Tyria is wearing that piece, but when the next thing comes out, they’ll move on. Remember when everyone had a SAB weapon? Or holographic wings? You still see them around now, but sprinkled here and there on players who decided they fit the look they wanted.
The real secret to everyone not looking alike is having enough variety of quality skins in game. The more options, the more player’s individual taste will cause there to be a variety in looks. Especially if ANet gives us mix-and-match armor pieces instead of must-be-used-as-set costumes.
But it should be at least as difficult to get the item when it comes available later, right?
Not necessarily. As I said above, the newest thing is usually the most desirable. You have to work harder if you want to be an early adopter, like in real life. When it gets released later, it makes perfect sense for it to be more accessible to those who didn’t get it the first time, and the early adopters can chase whatever has been just released. This is common in many areas of life.
Other than GW2, I’ve never paid more than $7 for a video game, because I’m content to wait two to three years and pick it up on a Steam mid-week madness sale. I’m playing the same game (actually, sometimes an improved game due to patches/mods) you spent $50 on back when it was released. Does that upset you?
I’ll reiterate, exclusivity does make sense if you are talking about a particularly challenging skill test to get the reward. I’m not an elite player by any means. I’d likely never have rewards locked behind knowing an encounter inside out and split-second dodging skills. Still, I see the value in providing exclusive rewards for people who really excel at the game.
Exclusivity because you’re willing to grind out thousands of a particular crafting mat or just because you were playing during the two weeks the item was available? We don’t need that. It takes time for ArenaNet to develop every item they add to the game. We need maximum access to those items so that the content is as full as it can be for any player. Sure, rotate it out to keep it fresh (my wife does the same with my kids toys), but nothing should be kept out of the game permanently so that a small section of the player base can feel special.
