Guild Wars 2

As an elementalist, you don’t want conjures unless you want a combined one weapon’s worth of useful functionality out of all of them.

If they made good conjures, that would just raise a kittenstorm from the elementalist community.

While I think the number of people that bought an edition with a slot because they have use for exactly one extra slot is very small, your best bet is to seek an alternative. E.g. an item that gives a choice of a few BLTC upgrades (including a slot). Gems just aren’t going to happen (since I’m guessing the total number of people buying the deluxe and ultimate editions would result in a very large number of gems being introduced to the market).

It’s not unreasonable to suggest a tweak, but I think the number of people that this genuinely affects is small.

fixit.7189:

So uh, I should request refund for ultimate then I guess? I bought it for the char slot which was an extra 800 gem worth and now that’s gone; it’s better just to go base version of hot now. Lame. It’s awesome to here they did this but for ultimate purchasers this can be seen as a bit disappointing… :\

You get the slot for the edition plus an additional slot for upgrading. You still get the extra benefit.

It says that anyone with an older account that upgrades (with no deadline to upgrade) will get the slot. Presumably you could upgrade months after HoT releases from any vendor and still get the slot.

From the FAQ:

Q: Will there be a collector’s edition for this expansion?
A: There are no plans for a physical collector’s edition for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. Heart of Thorns will be offered in Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate Editions (all of which are available for pre-purchase and include digital in-game bonuses only).

If you are using 64 character slots, you should get a plaque, not another slot.

Had to go all the way to page 5 to find the thread:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Super-Adventure-Box-merged-1/first

Brian Ponder.9017:

Palindrome.8904:

Currently, if you mention the expansion in map chat, you can almost be certain it will explode. There are a lot of unhappy people regarding the pricing/bundling/etc. that are more than happy to share their opinions on it and anyone that disagrees. Similarly, there are people that think the unhappy people have no right to be so, and are equally happy to share their opinions as well. That should avoid most PvE bile. As for PvP, I don’t know what sets off the typical PvPer, but apparently most things going by these forums.

It’s just kind of sad because some new players ask about the expansion or voice discomfort in the fact that they just paid $50 for the game and could have got it free and then map chat just RIPS them a new one like their lives and accounts depend on it. xD

If they are ripping into you for voicing displeasure over this, it’s probably the fairly small number of people that see any criticism of the pricing to be entitled complaining. That said, you can contact support if you bought the game from ANet in the last 30 days. Some people are saying your option is to have your current account cancelled (refund) and then buy the HoT option. That said, I’ve also heard it that ANet is helping people that match those two criteria switch over to a HoT account without progress lost.

If you bought the game more than 30 days ago and just got around to playing much? Almost certainly out of luck.

Currently, if you mention the expansion in map chat, you can almost be certain it will explode. There are a lot of unhappy people regarding the pricing/bundling/etc. that are more than happy to share their opinions on it and anyone that disagrees. Similarly, there are people that think the unhappy people have no right to be so, and are equally happy to share their opinions as well. That should avoid most PvE bile. As for PvP, I don’t know what sets off the typical PvPer, but apparently most things going by these forums.

Brian Ponder.9017:

Oxidia.8103:

Dear brian. Your worst mistake was trying to talk to pvp people. Pvp people are far faaaar more toxic then eny other part of the game. Being 5 days old ingame and telling people what to do is just adding a gasoline in a pre erupting volcano.

Find yourself a guild and once you get friendly with them you can vent there if something is bothering you. Never with strangers because strangers will most likely backfire at you.

The thing is, you must be doing something wrong if people angry whisp you for hours (if that’s the truth), bacause in my allmost 3 years of playing i got maybe 6 angry whisps, all of them while playing ranger in pvp.

I believe you’ve been mistaken. I didn’t tell anybody what to do. I asked if a ranger tanking damage for minutes on end without dropping below 80~90% HP was normal, and was ridiculed and cussed at for hours, some people threatening to follow me across characters. Is there a folder where screenshots are kept? Because I pressed Printscreen on a few of the particuarly nasty bits and wouldn’t mind reporting a few of them.

Defaults to Documents/Guild Wars 2/Screens for a Windows client.

Tribal Sage.5642:

Coulter.2315:

You know the Specialisations are getting released on Tuesday whether you are buying HoT or not, right? xD

I’m interested in knowing what all is in the expansion besides the little bit we know currently. The rebalance in my opinion isn’t apart of the expansion as it’s happening for players if they get the expansion or not.

Elite specializations, Revenant, new Maguuma maps (and masteries, achievements, bosses, etc. that go along with them), future story additions, and a lot of guild hall interaction.

I believe that is everything we know of that is exclusive to buying HoT, granted we know very little about the content of the maps.

Nope.

[This space intentionally left blank.]

Aeniklast.9283:

Thanks for the replies, appreciate you guys clearing it up.

Hopefully the offer the expansion without the original game. Sounds great for new customers, but it’s a slap in the face for someone who spent money already on the original game.

I feel kind of indifferent right now lol… maybe I shouldn’t invite him to play

Heart of Thorns + vanilla is the new base game. According to ANet, the vanilla game is a ‘free bonus’, so they won’t be broken apart.

I didn’t play GW1, but wasn’t there just the one race? You would need to animate emotes for five different races in this game. If they have an animator with extra time, sure, but that’s not a trivial investment.

It may be changed, but if you skim through the John Smith posts here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/I-have-a-question-about-the-economy/first

You’ll find that he requested that announcing economy-changing things prior to the patch be avoided. JS is the head economist for the game.

If you really believe that this was a spontaneous change, I suggest you read through this:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/I-have-a-question-about-the-economy/first

Nothing as potentially economy-changing as this is spontaneous or on a whim.

Until you see the description change on the pre-purchase page, this rumor has no basis in reality.

ProtoGunner.4953:

Aidenwolf.5964:

Where Anet made a serious error imo and the opinion of many others is they decided to gouge the current players just that little bit extra by not including a character slot or two as they did in every expansion in GW save EOTN with the base HoT expansion. I mean seriously, there is zero incentive for a current player to pre purchase the base package.

Thank you, that’s what I think. The price would be okay if we get at least one additional character slot in the normal edition.

There is no ascended buff. That was false information disseminated by over-eager websites. Here’s some accurate information on this and a significant QoL improvement for ascendeds:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Ascended-Gear-Anet-please-fix-this/first#post5173842

Before today:

Refund us our ascended armor mats for stuff made useless by trait changes!

After today:

Refund us our useless ascended items that we threw out now that they have a use!

Illconceived Was Na.9781:

Colin announced today that we’ll be able to convert ascended armor and weapons in the Mystic Forge.

• 5 ecto
• 10 spirit shards (aka skill points in today’s jargon)
• the old gear
• an exotic insignia/inscription with the new stats

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Ascended-Gear-Anet-please-fix-this/5173842

More importantly, ascended gear is remaining at 5% above exotic, not the misinformed 10% that was going around.

Ashen.2907:

Palindrome.8904:

vincecontix.1264:

Palindrome.8904:

vincecontix.1264:

Guys $50 is the price of the expansion only those who pre-purchase get the the core game from free. Those who pre-order aren’t paying for the the core gw2 game.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/HoT-Price-Feedback-Base-game-included-merged
New players getting the core game for free is a good thing for the game overall. Wouldn’t it be great for this game to get new players and grow?
WoodenPotatoes Review of the HoT per-purchase sums up things well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUtMGS3ezLI

Now if there is something to discuss if would be $50 price tag, though it is a bit high its kinda standard price for a lot of expansions. How much do most of us spend fast food, alcohol and other for of entertainment?

“The issue is that new players spend 50$ and get vanilla and HoT. Existing players spend 50$ and get HoT. There is a clear difference in what the money gets different people. "

Quoting myself as it was a reply to your copy/pasted comment in another thread. The price is not the important issue.

If thats what you are on about then there is no issue. If someone else gets a better deal good for them. New players coming to the game is great for the community.

The real issue to discuss is the $50 dollar price tag, I think an extra character slot would make most people happy.

Again, the price is not an issue. It’s not about a better deal. A sale is a better deal. This is about two people paying the same amount of money and getting to vastly different things that are marketed as equal.

The only difference between what those two people get is that a veteran gets more than a new player.

At one point I paid $10 for a character slot. At a later point another player paid $10 for the game which came with five character slots. We paid the same amount of money but I got fewer character slots. Unfair ?

..what? You bought an extra character slot for the price of a character slot and a new player buys the game but does not buy a character slot and… what?

You:
Game (5) + Gem store (1) = 6

Other player:
Game(5) = 5

I have no idea what your post is saying or how it is relevant.

vincecontix.1264:

Palindrome.8904:

vincecontix.1264:

Guys $50 is the price of the expansion only those who pre-purchase get the the core game from free. Those who pre-order aren’t paying for the the core gw2 game.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/HoT-Price-Feedback-Base-game-included-merged
New players getting the core game for free is a good thing for the game overall. Wouldn’t it be great for this game to get new players and grow?
WoodenPotatoes Review of the HoT per-purchase sums up things well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUtMGS3ezLI

Now if there is something to discuss if would be $50 price tag, though it is a bit high its kinda standard price for a lot of expansions. How much do most of us spend fast food, alcohol and other for of entertainment?

“The issue is that new players spend 50$ and get vanilla and HoT. Existing players spend 50$ and get HoT. There is a clear difference in what the money gets different people. "

Quoting myself as it was a reply to your copy/pasted comment in another thread. The price is not the important issue.

If thats what you are on about then there is no issue. If someone else gets a better deal good for them. New players coming to the game is great for the community.

The real issue to discuss is the $50 dollar price tag, I think an extra character slot would make most people happy.

Again, the price is not an issue. It’s not about a better deal. A sale is a better deal. This is about two people paying the same amount of money and getting to vastly different things that are marketed as equal.

Gems would never happen because it would throw the exchange out of whack.

Good scenario:
- All editions get some added bonus for upgraded accounts only

Better scenario:
- ANet implements some bonus selector item that contains a choice of BLTC account upgrades (maybe 5 options). Want a character slot? Pick that. Want a bank expansion instead? Pick that.

I in no way expect the latter and would be fairly surprised by the former.

Even speaking as a proponent of something to make the price more equitable, we really don’t need another thread suggesting this, do we?

vincecontix.1264:

Guys $50 is the price of the expansion only those who pre-purchase get the the core game from free. Those who pre-order aren’t paying for the the core gw2 game.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/HoT-Price-Feedback-Base-game-included-merged
New players getting the core game for free is a good thing for the game overall. Wouldn’t it be great for this game to get new players and grow?
WoodenPotatoes Review of the HoT per-purchase sums up things well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUtMGS3ezLI

Now if there is something to discuss if would be $50 price tag, though it is a bit high its kinda standard price for a lot of expansions. How much do most of us spend fast food, alcohol and other for of entertainment?

“The issue is that new players spend 50$ and get vanilla and HoT. Existing players spend 50$ and get HoT. There is a clear difference in what the money gets different people. "

Quoting myself as it was a reply to your copy/pasted comment in another thread. The price is not the important issue.

vincecontix.1264:

Op what are you talking about? You get a free copy of gw2 when you buy HoT. Unless there has been an announcement I haven’t heard about yet.

Since no one else will set you straight:

No, no you don’t. You get one code that either upgrades an existing account or creates a new account that has the base game and HoT.

Kal Spiro.9745:

We’ll just have to see how it goes.

Honestly I’m not even all that against this being the case. When the core game is being sold for $10, like it was not that long ago, and it’s been three years, it’s time to bundle it into the expansion. It’s just that normally the expansion has also already been out for a while.

And that’s perfectly fine. Many people simply aren’t okay with it being the case, hence the anger/disappointment. As long as you sift through all the ’it’s too expensive’ or ‘not enough content’ posts and the like.

Koviko.3248:

JustTrogdor.7892:

Koviko.3248:

I’m not saying that I won’t purchase HoT. I will definitely 100% be playing HoT when it’s released.

I just don’t feel comfortable with my pre-purchase, anymore.

So you are 100% you are going to buy HoT when it is released. You bought HoT before it is released but you will have it when it is released. So if you are 100% sure then I don’t see the problem. You bought something you just said you were 100% sure you were going to buy. You just don’t get to use it yet aside from beta.

I’m secretly hoping the price will drop by then. Maybe there’s a $10 premium on there for beta access, which I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of anyway. I’ve been invited to the betas before but they never fit my schedule.

Don’t hold your breath. If anything changes to the options it will be to add something to accounts buying standard as an upgrade (e.g. a character slot as per popular demand) and then bump up the other two editions accordingly. Even that is very dubious though. Personal expectation is that they will just swallow the bad PR.

vincecontix.1264:

Guys $50 is the price of the expansion only those who pre-purchase get the the core game from free.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/HoT-Price-Feedback-Base-game-included-merged

It is not a free bonus unless ANet continues to sell the vanilla game on its own. As it stands, all information points to HoT being the base game. That’s the core of the issue. New players buy this new base game with all possible content. Existing players buy this new base game and effectively throw away a large part of the purchase because you can’t have double vanilla. This, of course, assumes existing players won’t throw away progress and just start a new account with HoT.

Point would be moot if:
- The vanilla game was a second code separate from the HoT upgrade.
- The vanilla game was available with no purchase at all.

Greymelken.1892:

I doubt it, because lets be honest, you want your money back because you are feeding into the drama and entitlement from the veterans who think they are getting burned because anet is offering new players an incentive to come into a game that has been running for 3 years.

I mean, you had to know what you were paying for, it was all laid out before you in plain text, you read it, you were excited for it, you bought it. Then your guild chat, and your map chat began to fill up with hate, and you let other people make your decisions for you, and now you want to hang out with the cool kids who just want to hate everything.

they arent running off with anything of yours, you ran to them and threw your money at them. they are still there in the same spot, they arent moving, and the money is theirs now.

So basically, you want to run away with their money.

If he gets a refund and his account returned to the previous state, this is an immensely false statement, regardless of motivation.

Kal Spiro.9745:

Palindrome.8904:

HoT is the base game now. There is no option to not purchase the base game. The only way to make use of the full value is to make a new account.

Where is this written? Who has made this claim? The ONLY word I’ve seen from ANet on this topic is that the expansion is the price point and the core game is a bonus. Considering we’re talking about a pre-purchase here that would indicate it is a pre-purchase bonus.

The fact that you can’t access the core game from the site doesn’t discount the fact that you can still buy it from anywhere else that isn’t here. Just google guild wars 2 and you’ll get plenty of options to buy.

Right now ANet is trying to sell their Pre-purchase on the expansion. Added to the fact that they are offering the core game as a bonus, they don’t want people who are uninformed and negligent to accidentally buy the core game in preparation to pre-purchase (like most of the people who have purchased the game since the expansion was announced.) Those are really the only people who are getting hurt by all this.

From the FAQ:

Q: Do I have to own Guild Wars 2 to play the expansion?
A: Yes, but Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns includes the Guild Wars 2 core game.

Two possibilities:
1) This is indefinite (otherwise it would specify given the fact that they just edited this item to specify the inclusion)
2) Whoever is responsible for this FAQ page isn’t terribly competent and it is temporary but they didn’t mention this (which would just be more bad PR later)

rapthorne.7345:

Palindrome.8904:

The inequity is the biggest issue because of two parts:

1) New players simply get far more content for the same price.

So the up to 3 years of content you veterans have experienced, much of it unique and non-repeatable, and the thousands of hours players have got out of their base game purchase, count for nothing?

This is the fundamental disagreement I have with this “new players get more” argument. New players are not getting more. New players are not getting 3 years and thousands of hours of enjoyment and unique, non-repeatable content from launch up til now.

The only other game in existence I have played that even comes close to the time I’ve invested in it for a similar price tag to GW2 is Skyrim. I’d buy skyrim all over again if I needed to to get a new DLC for it, because the sheer amount of enjoyment and hours I have got from Skyrim make the price a pittance compared to what I as a customer have got from it.

That’s Skyrim as a single player game without continual development costs, without a huge community modder team to fix all their bugs, without server hosting fees to pay for, without any of the persistent costs asociated with running an MMO.

Am I happy to let new players come in to the game and experience HoT for the same price of me upgrading when I’ve had 10 months (myself, others almost 3 years) and over 1,000 hours of gameplay before HoT has released?

kitten right I am, I can’t wait to get several thousand more hours of gameplay from HoT for only one (mandatory) payment of as little as $50 (5 cents an hour at 1,000 hours of gameplay, to put it in perspective).

I’ll also buy gems regularly, on top of that.

There are a couple of counters you can choose to accept or not, it’s really a matter of perception:

1) Was the added content worth the initial cost?
2) I would argue that I didn’t pay anything for added content. I paid for the initial game, anything beyond that is bonus.

Plus the real issue:

HoT is the base game now. There is no option to not purchase the base game. The only way to make use of the full value is to make a new account.

Batelle.1680:

chemiclord.3978:

I think a more accurate comparison is that one monkey got a bunch of grapes earlier, then got kittened off when the second monkey got a grape along with his cucumber.

Which would make the first monkey a kitten more than anything.

Literally this.

Like, it’s only an issue of fairness if you are willfully ignorant to the idea of depreciation of market value and are in dire need of a spotlight shone on you and your dogged support of a video game (and here I am, playing for the enjoyment of it alone). Besides, I thought that Anet was thanking me for playing the game every time I got a reward or title for existing, or simply logging in. It’s not much, but a level scroll, boosters, and a cake cannon is a lot more than SWTOR ever did for me…

The fact of the matter is that the HoT is $50 whether you like it or not, and people who don’t have the game yet are able to download the game while those who already have the game don’t get to because they already have it. The game has been devalued to nothing, and no longer exists on its own.

Also- if Anet gave away one free base game code to those who already have the code, gold farmers and hackers would have yet one more way to insulate themselves from permanent removal from the game. It would absolutely be abused.

Please explain a fact-based formula for determining how software depreciates.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Devata.6589:

I rather see a CE edition coming available.

I really like this idea. I’m going to edit my OP and add a little something.

ANet confirmed no collector’s edition.

Wizard.6829:

1) Being it now comes with the core, Will the core be on a separate key to give to a friend? To me that would make business sense to add another player that may look to upgrade if they like the game. Or will it be a waste for the vets?
2) what comes in the boxed version or is it just a CD in a cardboard box and when you put in the CD it says downloading everything you need you can toss the CD in the land fill now all I needed was a piece of paper from the box?

1) No, vanilla cannot be purchased on its own anymore. You can either upgrade an existing account or make a new account with HoT.

2) There are no physical bonus items. I suspect it’s a standard install disc (not needed) and a printed key code.

JustTrogdor.7892:

Haha SP is up to his tricks again I see.

I knew that name sounded familiar. I fell for him in another thread

Edit: I fell for him in a gullibility way, not a swoon-y way.

This was literally on the first page when you posted:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/You-re-changing-traits-can-we-respec-gear/page/2#post5168447

Fauxfox.7318:

Thing is your not buying a new shirt, they are giving you a badge to go on a shirt.. then giving you the shirt for it.

But they aren’t. If they were, I could go buy the expansion and get two codes. One for an upgrade and one for a new account.

evoRobot.4019:

SO you don’t care the new person recieves the expansion.. and we are both paying 50 dollars, so what do you want? You guys are comparing yourselves to monkeys and saying its unfair compared to the new players.

*We can both buy the expansion right now for 50$ and get brand new accounts, theres the fair deal. *

Instead you are mad that someone new who never played the game after 3 years of existence will get it for free because it makes their life alittle easier.

The problem is you guys want to be better than the new player and want some kind of attention to show this dominance, just like APES!

Yes, we can all buy the expansion for 50$ and get new accounts if we want to throw away all existing progress. We don’t want better, we want equal value for that 50$.

The inequity is the biggest issue because of two parts:

1) New players simply get far more content for the same price.

2) Heart of Thorns is the base game now. Existing players must buy the base game a second time to access the new content. If vanilla could still be purchased or played without purchase there would be no issue.

Up until the start of the week, vanilla had a very specific value: whatever it was being sold for.

As for your analogy, it doesn’t work here for a couple of reasons:

1) Clothes wear out so naturally you need to replace them over time. Software doesn’t do the same thing.
2) It would be like buying a pair of pants that never get beaten up, worn through, etc. and wanting a pair of shoes. Unfortunately that pair of shoes can only be purchased if you also buy another pair of pants. You are only allowed one pair of pants.

Now, you can argue that the pants were free with the shoes, but you don’t even get the satisfaction of taking them off the rack and throwing out your disallowed new pants. You have to leave them hanging there.

As unfortunate as it is, I suspect the only viable suggestion you’ll get is to invest in upgrade extractors despite the fact that the runes/sigils aren’t going to cover that cost.

There really is no free bonus. Here’s a breakdown:

1) You can’t buy vanilla on its own anymore.
2) Heart of Thorns standard edition is the base game now.
3) New players pay $50 for the entire vanilla world and the expansion area.
4) Existing players have to purchase the base game as it stand now to get the expansion.
5) The only people that won’t have access to new features are existing players that are too put off by this inequality of value.
6) Other people purchased the game because the FAQ specifically stated (prior to yesterday) that it would be required for Heart of Thorns. The only solution offered to people in this situation is to request a refund and buy the game again. This results in their current account being terminated (and all progress lost).

This would not be an issue if one of the following:

1) You could simply play vanilla with no purchase at all. Then it really would be a free inclusion (though trivially).
2) Upgrading via Heart of Thorns standard gave some additional bonus (E.g. character slots to use the popular demand) that didn’t come with the creation of a new account with Heart of Thorns.

I do not:

1) Think the expansion should be free.
2) Think 50$ is too much (for some, it may be, but that’s really a matter of perceived value rather than two unequal things sold for the same price).
3) Have a strong opinion on what is in the expansion against the price.

How easy is it to actually do this intentionally and is there any way to actually determine that it was intentional rather than coincidental?

Jornophelanthas.1475:

So what about the Ultimate edition? It dumps 4000 gems into the market per purchase. Wouldn’t that crash the exchange overnight?

Well, if half of all existing players (approx. double the gems of the OP suggestion, so halve the players) did that, then yes. However I seriously doubt that will be the case.

The difference between this and a sale is that a sale is:
a) Expected after a while and
b) A different price for the same thing.

Heart of Thorns is the same price for two vastly different things.

Well, you retain achievements and all account-bound progression if you upgrade. That said, it is true that a new account gets far more out-of-the-box for the same price than an existing account.

Ayrilana.1396:

Palindrome.8904:

Ayrilana.1396:

Weylin.6478:

If you buy GW2 now, it comes with HoT.
If you already have the game, you are losing out if you just go with an upgrade.
If you get it as a separate account, you get 4 character slots + HoT.
If you get it as an upgrade, you get HoT, nothing else.

Just a week ago, GW2 was $40.

Everyone who just purchased GW2 for $40 will now have to buy it AGAIN for $50.
Anyone who’s just now showing up will have to pay the $50 for GW+HoT, that’s fine.

So veterans and intermediates alike got massively ripped off as they are having to pay the equivalent of $90 to get the full package.

This is punishing early adopters and recent buyers of the game, a friend of mine has been trying to get money set aside for weeks to buy GW2 and he finally gets it, and then this happens… If he had known, he would have just waited a few weeks and paid the extra $10 for all of the content.

The base game is a bonus. Would you still be this upset had it not been included and the expansion was still $50 nonetheless like the had planned for it to be?

The only reason to be upset (rather than simply not buy the game) is that new players get far more for the same price. So if it wasn’t included, then no, many people wouldn’t be upset.

The thing is, Heart of Thorns standard is the new base game. You can’t just buy vanilla now.

Two things would have made this all moot:
- If an account is being upgraded, it gets something extra (e.g. character slots).
- The base game can be played with zero purchase of any kind. This would mean that the bundling into the HoT standard means nothing and no one is upset (except people that bought vanilla recently, but that’s a slightly different issue).

So let’s say you have a PS4/Xbox game that’s been out for awhile. You paid $60 for it originally. They later release a GOTY edition which has the base game and all of the expansion for $60. Would you be upset? Would you think that you got ripped off?

Adding promotions for new accounts is nothing new. This situation appears just like the arguments people had awhile back regarding the different editions of this game that became standard and how “veteran” players deserved those items that were included with the newer editions and not the ones that they bought at release.

If the GOTY edition was the only way to play any of the DLC? Sure I’d be upset. However, games release DLC separate from GOTY editions that continue to be available after said editions are released.

The problem is that this would crash the exchange overnight, as many people would just cash out gems for gold.

A better solution would be more like:
a) Give everyone some standardized bonus, like character slots (which are close to universally beneficial)
b) Implement some upgrade account bonus selector that contains a choice of 5 or so BLTC upgrades (including 1-2 character slots) to make even more people happy.

This can’t be converted to gold and people still win.

Kal Spiro.9745:

It’s a prepurchase bonus. When the game is released it will just be the expansion. Pre-purchase isn’t about being fair. It’s about giving bonuses. If you don’t like it then wait until the game is released and everything will be “fair” again.

Heart of Thorns standard is the new base game as vanilla alone is no longer an option. Vanilla can be labeled as ‘free’ but until people can play vanilla with no purchase, that’s not really true. The issue is that a new player gets far more content for the same price than an existing player.

Ayrilana.1396:

Weylin.6478:

If you buy GW2 now, it comes with HoT.
If you already have the game, you are losing out if you just go with an upgrade.
If you get it as a separate account, you get 4 character slots + HoT.
If you get it as an upgrade, you get HoT, nothing else.

Just a week ago, GW2 was $40.

Everyone who just purchased GW2 for $40 will now have to buy it AGAIN for $50.
Anyone who’s just now showing up will have to pay the $50 for GW+HoT, that’s fine.

So veterans and intermediates alike got massively ripped off as they are having to pay the equivalent of $90 to get the full package.

This is punishing early adopters and recent buyers of the game, a friend of mine has been trying to get money set aside for weeks to buy GW2 and he finally gets it, and then this happens… If he had known, he would have just waited a few weeks and paid the extra $10 for all of the content.

The base game is a bonus. Would you still be this upset had it not been included and the expansion was still $50 nonetheless like the had planned for it to be?

The only reason to be upset (rather than simply not buy the game) is that new players get far more for the same price. So if it wasn’t included, then no, many people wouldn’t be upset.

The thing is, Heart of Thorns standard is the new base game. You can’t just buy vanilla now.

Two things would have made this all moot:
- If an account is being upgraded, it gets something extra (e.g. character slots).
- The base game can be played with zero purchase of any kind. This would mean that the bundling into the HoT standard means nothing and no one is upset (except people that bought vanilla recently, but that’s a slightly different issue).