I think there are some points being missed amidst all of the angry player warfare.
GW2 is not GW1. Stop comparing the two games; they are never going to be the same. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses; people are going to favor aspects of one versus the other. If you want to play GW1, I suggest you do that, and stop holding your breath for GW2 to suddenly transform into a GW1 reproduction. You will die of asphyxiation.
Since there are people digging into this, to actually argue that HoT is not an ‘expansion’ based on GW1 expansions, map size, what is being included, etc – on GW1 the actual area you were able to maneuver around was much smaller. Yes, the expansions provided larger ‘bricks of land’ but how much of that land could you even travel on? Surely not as much, as dividers existed between trails that barred you from popping from one section to another. The percentage of area you could actually explore was significantly less.
But these two games are not the same. So that entire argument is moot to begin with!
As for the Free Character slot for Revenant:
It’s not ANet’s responsibility to provide you with a free character slot. Would it be nice? Oh yeah. Would a million dollars be nice? You bet, but let’s be realistic. You have x character slots full of 80’s. If you knew HoT would be introducing a new class with it since January, this entire time you could have been preparing for that additional slot, instead of banking on the assumption that a slot would be handed out. ANet never promised a free slot; counting your chickens before they hatch will set one up for disappointment.
We are given free monthly dailies that include gear, Laurels, Mystic Coins, Tomes of Knowledge and more. Surely if one works hard to earn gold to transfer into gems, they can purchase their own additional slot, and use their saved Tomes of Knowledge to help their character reach 80. This is what many players have been doing. This is not rocket science.
Back again to the “Well, in GW1…” This is not GW1. Never will be.
“But we’ve spent so much time over the past 3 years, given ANet our money, etc.”
You, as a veteran player, have more advantage than any new player will. This is obvious. How much have you accomplished over 3 years? Do you think, suddenly because new players get the core game included for free, that they will match the advantages that you have, in a much shorter amount of time? From Ascended gear to daily and monthly achievements, to what you have built up in your bank, to all of these things, your advantage over new players surpasses their fortune of a free base game. How about veteran players be more thankful? I know I am, and I have been playing since initial launch. You played to have fun, not to be rewarded for doing it. You earned your rewards yourself. ANet is not going to hand things out to you.
ANet has never made you pay money for anything. Any gems you have purchased, anything at all, you have done willingly. Whether it was because you felt you simply needed to have x, or because buying x would make x easier for you, you have been the one making these purchase decisions. They have never been required, and ANet has never provided a means to gaining advantage over other players with out of game currency.
If you expected special treatment for your own decisions, then ANet is not at fault and owes you nothing, you are.
It is assumed that players have stayed with GW2 because they enjoy it, not because they expect fancy things out of it. Or, at least, one can hope.
Those who argue that $50 for even the Basic pre-purchase option is too much, why? Look at today’s market. We’re getting a new area, a new class, new elite specializations, guild halls, a plethora of new things to work for; whether you think that HoT is an expansion or not, it is expanding from the core game therefore, it is an expansion.
If you can’t afford $50, do what everyone does when they can’t afford something. Save up for it, ask it to be gifted for x special day, or be quiet. Just because some of us can afford, and see even the Basic option as desirable, doesn’t mean our money was not earned, or that we ‘have it easy’ because we can afford it. I work hard for my paychecks, and I don’t feel scammed at all by ANet.
I am excited to enjoy the new content, and more quick to find things I like, than find things I don’t. If you’re upset, maybe you should reevaluate whether or not your disappointment was due to expectations that were never promised.
