Guild Wars 2

Zaxares.5419:

Maybe a compromise?

The Wardrobe works the same way it does now, but when you use Charges to apply skins to a specific item, you can then freely swap back to this skin (and any other unlocked skin), on that item forever? For example:

1. I craft a Zojja’s Greatsword. It has the Zojja skin unlocked on it by default.
2. I use a Transmutation Charge and apply the AC Greatsword skin to it. It now has both the Zojja and AC skins unlocked on it, and I can freely swap between those two skins whenever I want.
3. If I then craft a new Keeper’s Greatsword, but wanted to use the Zojja’s and AC skins on this new weapon, then I’d need to spend 2 more Charges applying those two skins to my Keeper’s GS. (Alternatively, I could use 1 Charge and apply the Keeper’s skin to my old GS, which would now have 3 skins unlocked on it.)

Not a bad idea, actually, but while this would be great for my level 80 main who’s already got stats I’m comfortable with, it wouldn’t help at all for my alts, because I’d still have to pay to keep a look I liked every time I found armor with better stats while leveling.

nGumball.1283:

1. It is not profitable for the company. The game is based on skins and as most of those are actually obtainable outside the gemstore, the company have to make money somehow.

That’s not what I or most of the others who have advocated this are proposing. Transmutation charges, from the gemstore, would still be needed in addition to getting the actual skins from loot/TP/etc. Thus, “pay to unlock.” As many others have argued before me (go back and read previous posts if I’m not convincing enough) this could still be hugely profitable, and potentially MORE profitable than “pay to change,” because more people would be willing to buy gems for trans. charges if they could unlock skins permanently, whereas if one has to pay every time they change, they are less likely to ever change after they settle on one look they like, depriving ANet of potential revenue.

nGumball.1283:

2. How easy it will become may create boredom. Yes, people will be happy at first, but making content easier to get, make it unrewarding. The game is hugely based on skins, many people already own most, giving those people a reason to play more in case they want to re-costumize is a way of making it more challenging.

While it’s theoretically possible to make enough gold to convert into gems for this purpose, the exchange rate is prohibitive, and most people who want gemstore stuff just use real money. There’s no “challenge” there, and it wouldn’t make many people I know play more.

DarksunG.9537:

DaShi.1368:

The new transmutation system is not really different than the old system. People who weren’t buying transmutation stones/crystals before are not going to start buying them in the new system.

Yup. If I were unlocking skins with the stones, I’d buy more. but I’m not gonna pay gold or Gems just to use the friggen things.

I hope you’re reading this, GMs. Please take this into consideration and please reply to this thread! I think there’s enough of us making this recommendation/complaint that we should be addressed somehow.

Let me also say, because it isn’t being said enough amongst all the complaints, that the April feature pack looks AWESOME. I still hold that you really really really should make the wardrobe system pay to unlock, not pay to change, but regardless, all the changes you definitely are making according to your blog post look great.

Your game is amazing and the fact that you are making cool changes is amazing. Now please hear your player base and make the wardrobe a TRUE wardrobe.

daimasei.4091:

Azure Moonfire.7493:

(This and several of the replies after it were originally a separate thread I made to deal with a specific issue in the new dye system, but has since been merged to this thread)

So ANet is making dyes account wide unlocks. That’s seriously awesome, and I love it. Can’t wait.

One problem: some of us have already purchased the same dye for multiple characters. ANet is acknowledging us by giving one unidentified dye per duplicate unlocked dye. So that’s cool.

Except…it really isn’t. There are HUGE price differences between dyes, and ANet seems to be saying that the “reimbursement” for our multiple unlocks will be the same regardless of WHICH dyes we have multiple unlocks on.

I spent in the neighborhood of 70 gold to unlock Abyss on two different characters, and all I will get for that is a single unidentified dye, currently worth less than a single gold, which is the same thing I will get for having some crappy 50-copper dye unlocked on two or more characters?

ANet, please give us an item-version of the SAME dye we have multiple unlocks for so that we can sell it on the TP. This only seems fair. I paid a lot for abyss, so I want to get an item version OF abyss, not a random unidentified dye.

You think this is unfair? For 70g? Really?

I said previously I spent over 500g on dyes but I checked my purchases (yes, the whole history) and I spent +1374g only on Abyss/Celestial/Illumination dyes.

If I sum the rest of other dyes I bought (black/white/random color) I have spent +1438g on dyes.

And I’m not even going to get a single unidentified dye because those dyes were used on characters I deleted.

And I’m not even mad (after knowing how much I spent I’m just screaming internally).

Firstly, the 70 gold was just an example, and that is only what I’ve spent on getting abyss for just two characters. I have other multiple-unlock dyes as well.

Secondly, 70 gold is a LOT for some players. Super-duper hardcore players who spend a ridiculous amount of time and use obscure strategies to acquire wealth might not see it as a large amount, but it is, and it takes many players a long time to acquire.

Thirdly, your lack of anger is not my concern. The fact that you are not angry does not mean I shouldn’t be. You are entitled to be as enraged or not as you like, and so am I.

Bottom line: I spent gold on something that will be rendered obsolete in the new update, and I don’t feel I (or anyone else in a similar situation) am going to be compensated fairly.

mtpelion.4562:

Yes, you’d make the people who don’t normally buy anything more likely to buy, but you’d lose millions upon millions of transactions from the people who currently buy all the time because they would only have to buy once.

Making lots of people buy something once is a LOT less profitable than making a few people buy often, unless you charge a hefty premium, which then leads to less people buying once putting you right back at square one.

A valid point, and one I don’t have a counterargument for, or at least not one that would add something new to the discussion.

I think that there are too many variables and possible scenarios to be really sure that any one course is the best. I understand that ANet is running a business and has to make money, but I also hope they will choose to make the players who support them as happy as possible while doing so.

Regardless, the system looks pretty great even with the crappy (imo) “pay per change” system, so as much as I hope they do change that bit, even if they don’t, I’m excited for the April update.

mtpelion: I think you are severly underestimating the value of customer loyalty and satisfaction. Making the system “pay to unlock” and not “pay to change” would make a lot of players really happy, and more likely to buy IN GENERAL from the gemstore in the future, simply because they like to support the company. I know that if I see something awesome that I’d like to buy, and can afford, but I am irked at the company that produces it for some reason or another, I am less likely to go through with the purchase, and I think a lot of people are the same way.

Randulf.7614:

Actually, it is much easier for the devs for you to post in the big thread. That is the one they are specifically collating issues from (it is sooo much easier to collate from one thread than multiple) and when they feedback answers, it will be from there.

Indeed. It would appear someone has already merged them, lol.

Anyway, thank you for that clarification; I will remember it for future posts.

Maximum Potato.5923:

I have a question.

I currently have an ascended bow skinned to look like the seraph bow – however, in the past, I had an exotic bow with the zenith greatbow skin. This has since been destroyed due to me getting a better one, etc etc. What I want to know, is will the zenith greatbow skin still be unlocked on my character, since I had it at one point, or is it gone forever?

From how I understand it, stuff you destroyed/salvaged in the past, prior to this update, is gone forever (at least until you find/buy another one).

Buuut, this is a zenith skin you’re talking about, as in one you earned from achievement points, right? Just go to your achievements tab on the hero panel, go to the “summary” subtab, and find your zenith weapon skin in the little box that contains all your unlocked skins, click on it, and click the “withdraw” button. You can withdraw an unlimited number for any of your characters.

I appreciate referencing me to the more broad feedback/questions thread related to my concern, but seeing as this is a specific issue that I’d rather not get lost among all the other issues people are bringing up with the new dye system, I think having a separate thread is appropriate.

(This and several of the replies after it were originally a separate thread I made to deal with a specific issue in the new dye system, but has since been merged to this thread)

So ANet is making dyes account wide unlocks. That’s seriously awesome, and I love it. Can’t wait.

One problem: some of us have already purchased the same dye for multiple characters. ANet is acknowledging us by giving one unidentified dye per duplicate unlocked dye. So that’s cool.

Except…it really isn’t. There are HUGE price differences between dyes, and ANet seems to be saying that the “reimbursement” for our multiple unlocks will be the same regardless of WHICH dyes we have multiple unlocks on.

I spent in the neighborhood of 70 gold to unlock Abyss on two different characters, and all I will get for that is a single unidentified dye, currently worth less than a single gold, which is the same thing I will get for having some crappy 50-copper dye unlocked on two or more characters?

ANet, please give us an item-version of the SAME dye we have multiple unlocks for so that we can sell it on the TP. This only seems fair. I paid a lot for abyss, so I want to get an item version OF abyss, not a random unidentified dye.

mtpelion.4562:

The biggest problem with going to a one time pay unlimited use skin system is that the sales volume would be many times smaller, so the cost per transaction would have to go up, which would then lead to a further decrease in sales volume. You’d wind up having to pay $50+ for each unlimited skin unlock in order to make up for the lost sales that ArenaNet would have made on individual charges.

That said, I think they may want to consider adding a premium Transmutation service, in which an account can pay a one time $200-300 fee and would then have unlimited unlocks, to satisfy the people who don’t want to use the system as is.

Fair point. However it’s clear this issue is upsetting a lot of people. Allowing players to swap skins for free while also keeping a reasonable permanent unlock charge would greatly increase customer satisfaction and, I think, loyalty. I know I’d be much more likely to buy gems in the future if I wasn’t all bitter about ANet making me pay every time I either changed my look or changed my stats while keeping my look.

Another thing to consider: if ANet is dead set on charging every time a player wants to change his/her look, could they at least allow those cosmetic changes to be preserved when equipment is changed due to stats, rather than binding the look to a specific piece of armor? This would allow players to at least level (and change their minds about which lvl 80 stats they prefer), swapping out better gear when they loot/buy it, while preserving their favored look.

Prophet.6257:

DarksunG.9537:

Downwood.3192:

The problem is that this isn’t a wardrobe. A wardrobe is a collection of clothes that you can pick and choose and use at any time because it’s yours.

This is a unlockable skin store.

You work, grind, and put effort in to collect skin. You pay real cash for, or convert gold to gems to buy skins on the TP. Either way, you can now earn the right to pay again to use something that you’ve unlocked..

This needs to be repeated over & over. This is my entire problem with this new system. They added cool stuff by making things account bound (it’s essentially going back to the GW1 costume account bound stuff) & saving bank space, then they ruin it by keeping the crappy “pay to use” system. I want to be able to swap at any time to any look for free. I’d pay to unlock each skin but just to swap to it? eff that. So far this will just open bank space for me & nothing else. I’m not going to pay to be swapping all the time even though that would be the whole fun of a wardrobe system. Unlocking 100 skins & just having them sit in the UI because I have to pay to use them is not the point of a wardrobe.

This 1000x times over.

My thoughts exactly.

Lol. Here I made a ridiculously long post and there was one sitting right there that encapsulated this whole issue in a much more concise manner.

Anyway, I agree entirely. Please hear the voice of your Players, ANet, for we who buy your products have spoken.

notebene.3190:

However, they key phrase in all my requests was – ‘like a dye’. In that, I was happy if they made me use stones and crystals (which you have to buy) to ‘unlock’ skins. I wanted to be able to use them freely, like a dye, without charge, whenever I wanted to, after I had unlocked the skin.

Agreed. ANet, all the changes you’ve unveiled honestly look great, but if you’re going to talk about “Revolutionizing” the way we choose our characters’ looks, you need to fix the current problem that occurs every time someone finds a new piece of gear with better stats and has to burn some difficult-to-acquire consumables to keep their old look while acquiring the new stats.

Burning consumables (currently trans. stones/gems, “charges” after update) to unlock skins? Fine. Burning consumables every single time you want to apply a certain look to a piece of armor? Not okay. Please DO NOT talk about revolutionizing the system without fixing such a basic problem. What you’re proposing is much better and will honestly enhance my experience, but there is an inherent flaw in the system that your update does not appear to be fixing.

When I find a look I really like, I want to be able to swap armors or weapons for the stats without my look changing. I should be able to equip a recently looted or trading-post-purchased piece of equipment because I like the stats, and my current appearance should not change at all, and this should be FREE. I understand you subsist on micro-transactions, and I have supported you many times by purchasing gems, however I feel that you could make appearance-swapping and keeping a look when equipping new equipment free while still getting revenue from transmutation charges when people buy them in order to unlock an account-wide skin for the FIRST TIME.

To any ANet admins reading this: It appears that you have not replied to this thread at all. I really think you should. A lot of people have some valid concerns and suggestions.

Also, totally unrelated, but please make weapons dyable. That would be awesome.

As always, thank you for making such an awesome game and continuing to make great improvements overtime. Nothing’s ever perfect, but even if I complain about certain things, I can honestly say that your MMO is the best I have ever played, and has truly revolutionized the genre. Stay awesome ANet, and keep setting amazing precedents that will likely shape the MMO industry in positive ways. I appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Azure Moonfire,
Sylvari Elementalist and Guardian player