Guild Wars 2

onic.4537:

Hello I’m sorry to bug you all about this but I have a few questions that I really badly need answered. I’d rather get input from the community before I purchase. here at the few questions I have

1. excluding the original Guild wars2 game how much more content does the expansion add like how many more maps and what new and exciting things does it add ?

One region comprised of three overlapping, vertical maps. Colin stated this very clearly, however many are choosing to deny this for some odd reason. The meat of the expansion is thin which has led many to sit and wait until it comes out to make a better purchase decision.

Vayne.8563:

A manifesto is a statement of intent, not a guarantee of delivery.

At this point we’re reviving a dead horse simply to beat it more but the manifesto has not been removed in favor of another declaration that’s more suited to the current state of the game. By keeping the manifesto up Anet is saying the values and directions stated are still valid. Of course we know this is a contradiction, but there you have it.

So long as that manifesto is up and hasn’t been replaced or supplanted we have to assume Anet still holds true to it.

WSG Delen.9203:

My understanding is that without HoT your game will not evolve beyond the current world state except where changes tweak features/content you already have access to. That means (assuming you do not get HoT) you would not get:-

1. Access to Guild Halls
2. Revenant Profession
3. Elite Specialisations (e.g. Druid, Chronomancer, Tempest, etc)
4. Masteries (e.g. Hand Gliding)
5. Any further living story progression

There may be even more content/features you would miss out on and it is unclear if any of the above features will be even partially available to non-HoT accounts (but I believe they are not even partially available).

You almost had it correct. Anet has made no mention of future LS seasons being funneled through HoT. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if HoT concluded the Mordremoth storyline and LS3 introduced a fresh narrative to core GW2.

Morfedel.4165:

DaveyC.4398:

Hello All,

I had high hopes after playing the Revenant at EGX Rezzed. After Playing the first beta, I am so disappointed.

I have tried a zerker and condi build with all weapon types. All I have seen is crazy low DPS, to the point where it took about 8 mins to kill a vet with other players.

That and no underwater weapon hardly make it much of a Beta.

From my perspective, I wish Arena net had not bothered with this weekend. I would have preferred them admitting that we are a long way away from hot completion.

After what I have seen today, I doubt very much that I will be playing a rev from day one, if even at all.

For what it is worth, I am seriously questioning whether I have a future in this game. (No you cannot have my stuff).

I guess that’s what you get for blind loyalty when the overlords have a culture of bleeding gamblers dry when you are a bit of a gambler yourself.

It is utterly dumbfounding how many people don’t understand the purpose of a beta test.

It isn’t to market a finished product. Its to find flaws and address them.

Wrong. Since the beginning GW2’s beta sessions have been thinly veiled marketing pushes. Should we bring up the beta stone drops? Even during this even Colin alluded to this being a marketing push.

I respect Gaile’s answer, but the honest truth is Anet puts out a live release then reacts to general player feedback.

Astralporing.1957:

xarallei.4279:

Only merf does and he’s already spoken on the issue in favor of the way teq is now.

Of course he would be in favour. This change practically cements monopoly of guilds like TTS on Teq fight. Yes, the majority of players that enjoyed Teq can’t do it anymore, but hey, they are not TTS.

Teq just went down on Tarnished Coast at midnight. Pug map. No nonsense. In fact we had a few minutes to spare. It can be done people! Bulky guilds needs not apply.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

If the community didn’t already know, SoR guild Gaiscioch [GSCH] regularly hosts a double Teq nite on Mondays and Wednesdays. Current and former TTS members all partake in this event because it’s led by our former glorious TTS leader Soren Ironclaw. With hundreds upon hundreds of Teq kills, you can say we’re pretty much experts on this event. We never cheat or use exploits to down Teq. Ever. GM Chris can verify this claim, as we discovered and reported major bugs and exploits to him and his team in the past.

I say all these things above because I’m about to /rant, and don’t want people to think that this is a L2P issue. With all our experience and map coordination, last nite we failed Teq by 0.005% HP, for the 2nd kitten time in the past week or so. Failing is one thing, but to fail when there’s practically nothing on Teq’s HP bar is another. Teq is broken. Doubling his HP was just too much. Penguin is sad.

Teq is not broken. He’s been made tougher. Just because you and the glorious whoever can’t kill him is not our problem. Your hundreds and hundreds of kills don’t mean squat now. Heck, I’ve killed Teq hundreds of times and I’ve been in organized maps post-patch that failed. You know what I did? I made sure my build was as strong as it could possibly be, and that I did everything I could to help my map win.

When every player tightens their build and puts forth the required effort . Teq will go down.

ItZMeJRS.9483:

So what will happen to people who don’t buy the expansion pack?

Anet will consider player feedback more seriously.

phokus.8934:

First, it’s “a lot” and not “alot”.

Second, there is no cash flow problem for ANet and GW2. Misguided direction from from leadership is the culprit.

Pot calling the kettle black.

And to the OP – I support a ethereal/goth band on Patreon. It’s a pretty solid way of supporting an artist. Anet is too big for something like that, besides they have a robust cash shop full of juicy items we don’t really need yet purchase anyways.

Test.8734:

Lucky.4263:

What makes HoT worth $50?

Nothing.

Keep in mind ArenaNet has seeing declining profits, and that they invested a lot in the China release, which was a failure. They’re now releasing an overpriced expansion in order to make up for the money they have lost, but this is clearly a move to help them, not for the benefit of their players.

This is a good point. I was surprised to hear about the China release go up in flames as quickly as it did. Clearly the expansion is priced $20 too high. Anet feels that by squeezing an extra $20 out of players they can recoup their losses. What they haven’t considered is the resistance players have been showing.

Here’s the meat of the expansion for PvE’ers:

“Journey into the Heart of Maguuma
Making the Most of Maguuma
New region with a high amount of verticality built into the maps
Multiple open world jungle maps³ made up of three distinct “biomes”
The core, the floor of the jungle itself
The roots of the jungle, that run deep beneath the jungle
The canopy, way up above, where the Pact fleet is scattered across the top of the jungle
Outposts – centralized locations for events that evolve over time and which help the overarching objectives in each map
Adventures – repeatable, on-demand challenges in the open world with their own leaderboards
New events and storylines
New boss battles
Challenging group content
Contains a secret legacy left in the heart of the jungle by Glint, right as the story of Guild Wars concluded"

Add Adventures to the list.

Challenging group content has the familiar ring of meta events with a twist. You can include the one PvP map and the one WvW map, the new class and Masteries to the purchase price. Precursor crafting and Guild Halls should not be included with the expansion IMO since these were asked for and talked about since launch. It is what it is, however.

So is the explorable content of HoT on the light side? Certainly. Is it worth $50? Probably not. Will Anet lower the price anytime soon? Doubt it. We can either pay $50 and enjoy what HoT offers, or we can move on. There’s certainty enough competition to at least explore what’s on the other side of the fence.

ThePahkage.2684:

I disagree. It’s better that things are more spread out. Less congestion.

A lot less congestion, but not for the reasons you think. Although the design is nice (real nice actually) the layout is far too spread out to be useful. Divinity’s Reach it is.

Roadmaps haven’t exactly panned out for Anet. The most we can hope for is more content on the future that is not as lengthy in release as HoT nor as problematic when they announce the purchase options. The bar has been set pretty low with this release, any improvement will be a plus.

Treetoptrickster.4205:

Guys, the community is more toxic than it’s ever been.

I wouldn’t say the community has been toxic. Quite the opposite. The community has spoken out against an unfair and unbalanced purchase selection. Just because you may not agree with their sentiments does not make the community any less.

If you bought GW2 within the past 30 days Anet support is refunding/compensating customers. Beyond 30 days and you may be screwed.

I agree with OP. Some of us are working-class adults with families who need to balance entertainment with necessity. Fifty dollars will not break the bank, however, the $50 price tag should have a content-value equal or more than its asking price. HoT does not have the content-value to substantiate kitten price. A core MMO release would, and HoT is not a core release by any stretch of the imagination. In fact I think it needs more to be even considered an expansion, but that’s another story.

The Steam Summer Sale has been amazing. I picked up a slew of great games at 60-80% off, spending less than $20 in total. Arkham Knight looks like it’ll be stupendous.

I’m baffled as to why Anet would allow this current fiasco to run so long without a single word in response. Beyond what Gaile Gray said we’ve heard nothing. It’s either because Anet has grown to become a blatantly arrogant company to the point where they no longer need to respond to player concerns ( an almost unanimous concern mind you) or they’re working on a better price option and will share it when its ready. I expect we’ll hear something on Monday. But if this eerie silence stretches into the week players will begin to draw their own conclusions.

A Hamster.2580:

This is my argument for why an expansion should have been offered separately. Before buying this game two months ago, I did some research and read the faq on the upcoming expansion HoT. In the faq, it is implied that the expansion would be offered separately.

After HoT is available for pre-ordering, they changed the faq.

Before they changed the faq:

Q: Do I have to own Guild Wars 2 to play the expansion?
A: Yes. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is an expansion to Guild Wars 2 and not a stand-alone campaign, and therefore it requires the base game to play.

After they edited it:

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.

It’s obvious what they pulled.

I was honestly considering buying gems to attain some outfits but now I will no longer be spending a single penny on this game. I do admit that I got the game for 10$, which is a great deal and I will be playing the heck out of the base game to get the most out of my 10$.

I’d like to see people try to defend this.

TL;DR: 2 months old customer already lost trust in the company.

Thanks for sharing your opinions. At this point a vast multitude of players feel the same way. Wether Anet admits to their fault and corrects it is entirely out of our hands. We did the best thing we could as a rational-minded community: we spoke out against the buy options and refused to hand over payment until better options are presented.

Majsan.5870:

Dear people who complain about the Pre-Purchase being 50$….suck it up. Instead of whining over the price like little kids sit and think for a moment….look what Anet did….just look at this amazing game they made…it’s their 1st Gw2 expansion look how much work they put into the new stuff. Think Guild Halls, new content new playable class…I think HoT is worth more than 50$. I wish people would instead of complaining actually look beyond the cost and realize that if ArenaNet doesn’t earn money from this Expansion there will be no expansion because they wont be able to afford it. Just please stop whining and protesting. Gw2 was voted the best community, lets show that and stop being greedy, yes I understand people who have low income who really want this expansion (like me) but still I love this game and I already love the expansion and if I could I would purchase the 100$ option because it would be a good support for ArenaNet. Please stop the complaining. Ps: I’m not saying you have to throw your money at the screen, but please don’t complain

Nothing gets me more than people who complain about people who complain. What’s the point? If you don’t like what they’re saying move on to a different discussion. And these so-called ‘kids’ as you call them have conveyed their thoughts and opinions in a much more eloquent and rational way than your post reveals.

These forums are here for one reason: to allow the players of GW2 to express their thoughts and opinions on the game as a whole. That seems to be working just fine.

Great comparison chart, OP. You can technically expand Verdant Brink to 3 zones and it still wouldn’t hold in comparison.

Rhanoa.3960:

Vanilla WoW $39.99

3yr $14.99 $539.64

1st Xpac TBC $49.99 + $19.99 Base Game

Blizzard’s marketing 2007. Many of would rather go back here than be down there.

---

GW2 $69.99

3yr $0.00

1st Xpac Hot $49.99 + Free Base Game

Anet’s marketing 2015. Rather than being here you would rather be up there.
*****************************************
Time to empty your wallets or move on to your next game!

I was in WoW when The Burning Crusade hit. That expansion was worth $50 and then some. New races, mounts, a slew of new zones and dungeons, and I’m not including the patches which brought the Zul’Aman. Asking $50 for HoT which has content that from all appearances is 75% less than The Burning Crusade is nonsensical. You’re comparing apples to oranges.

Nethion.3158:

Let’s all put this behind us and be big boys and girls now and instead of ruining the expansion with alligator tears, pay the 50 bucks that you would’ve paid anyways, ignore the fact that you get a useless copy of the original, and continue having a fun time without a subscription like you have been for 3 years.

Ahem, ignore the fact we get a useless copy of the original? Seriously, that’s your argument? Thankfully enough rational-minded players have come out against the pre-purchase blunder that we should be seeing some kind of alteration to the buy options. The fiasco has swelled well beyond these forums and touched every GW2 blogger and follower. I had a friend from WoW who doesn’t even follow GW2 ask me if this debacle is as bad as his guildmates are making it out to be. Sad part is my friend had all the facts straight.

So when the purchase-options are changed to a more favorable wind for players I will be among the first to buy.

littlemunster.1059:

Anet already sworn by their graves that there won’t be a cheaper version of this repackaged game. It’s time for competitors to step up and offer discounts to their game and steal the player base.

WoW and FF XIV are giving each other high-fives. They couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to boost their playerbases.

They are waiting for dust to settle, which ironically will discourage more players who actually want to see change. There’s well over a thousand comments (hundreds very well constructed) here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/3a4ktf/dont_prepurchase_heart_of_thorns/ and I haven’t begun to look for any other threads about this. Frankly I’m disappointed in Anet. This should have been a time of excitement, not frustration. If this debacle stretches into next week this will lay a dark cloud over HoT and future releases.

RDarken.2495:

Chasind.3128:

KPOBb.8476:

I don’t get the Veteran entitlement position.

There is no entitlement. But for those of us who have already owned gw2, payed 50-75$ for an entire game are having to buy the entire game again + HoT expansion for 50$ which is a slap in the face. There is no stand alone version of just HoT to buy. You have to re-buy the entire game + HoT. Atleast in GW1, the expansions itself were entire games & it was worth the extra 30-40$ bc you were automatically given an extra char slot. (except for eye of the north. )
We don’t really even know if 50$ for HoT is even worth it. Anet is just money hungry & it shows. They don’t give players who already own gw2 the option to just buy the HoT “expansion”.

Okay, but ANet said $50 is the cost of the expansion and that the base game is being included for free so new players do not have to buy both. So the argument that the cost includes both is invalid – and the posts accusing ANet of lying are kind of silly.

Wrong. The core game should always cost more than it’s preceding expansion, unless the expansion dwarfs the core game in overall content. It’s a safe assumption HoT will not come close to matching half of what the core game offered at release. And that’s fine, since it’s an expansion. But should players have to spend more for HoT than they did for GW2’s initial release?

Watched the video. Bogotter was fair and honest. Can’t say the same for WoodenPotatoes. He’s All In with Anet.

I agree it has become a fiasco. Changing the FAQ page was pretty low. It serves as a clear indicator that not everyone at Anet is on the same page, or they cannot follow a plan for too long without radically changing course.

This has been Anet’s MO from the moment GW2 launched, however. One course change after another. One release proceeded by backpeddaling. It’s no small miracle we’re even going to have an expansion.

IMO this has a lot to do with the lack of communication between developer and playerbase. The only real news we get is from official announcements when the product is nearing completion. Had Anet floated the purchase options around (on a Reddit AMA for example) beforehand they could have received critical feedback before going live. It’s frustrating for both sides.

Friggarn.9451:

Happy. We’re actually in playing the game and happy – the others are just the vocal minority.

Funny how the vocal minority always swells to a vocal majority and ends up representing the general opinion of the playerbase. And those few, few knights who defend the continuously questionable decisions by Anet can stand and watch as they roll back what they released time and time again. This level of backlash has already reached the proper levels in management, that much is certain.

At a time when news of HoT purchase details should provide a boon of anticipation and excitement they created a kittenstorm. Now we sit and wait for what the pre-purchase options are supposed to look like.

Lisa.6102:

Wow , just wow

Ethically speaking

A retraction should have been issued, and any person that bought the base game from the date of the of the original release of the FAQ , to the date of the “Edited” FAQ that goes on to buy the HoT expansion SHOULD be refunded the price of the base game.

+1 Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Agree with OP. I seriously considered the $100 option (because that’s the only one that made any sense). But in snatching up the Ultimate Edition I would be supporting a ill-conceived and morally wrong purchasing plan. So for now my hopes of playing in HoT have dimmed considerably unless something on the buy page changes.

Zalavaaris.5329:

Unfortunately as a veteran of GW2

Most of us are lumped into this category. Veterans that have the misfortune of either shelling $100 for additional items we’d buy later anyways or willfully allowing Anet to sucker punch us in the gut for the base or deluxe editions. For anyone new to GW2 it’s Christmas come early. Everyone else…..

BTW the rest of your post was thought-out and constructively put together. Good job.

Spurnshadow.3678:

Nope. Sorry. New players have all new character slots to fill and bank tabs. Vet players don’t get one character slot for $50.

^^ This. The purchasing incentives are imbalanced, and the product does not equate to the $50 base price. Anet better have something amazing tucked away in HoT to ask for the price of a core game.

sharkswithlazers.7632:

When I heard that you guys finally released the Pre-Purchase for the game, my wife and I rushed to your website to purchase the Heart of Thorns expansion. We don’t care that you chose to give the game free to new players because we’ve spent three years loving your master crafted game. The amount of dedication poured into the making of this MMO is apparent. The quality of life in this MMO greatly surpasses your competition and we have been avid fans of this franchise ever since we discovered it during your pre-release of GW2.

It’s disheartening to us to see that other veteran players are blowing up the forums because they want free stuff. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to put so much effort into making a game and when you finally release the pre-purchase for its expansion that the player base would be so negative and calling you guys “soulless corporate husks” for just trying to market this game.

My point is, I’m super hyped for this expansion, and I’m sorry that rather than hearing from your players about how excited they are as well, you’re getting ragers angry that they didn’t get free stuff.

That’s super great you and your wife spend money freely. There are some who consider the value of a product and it’s price tag before making a decision. The standard and deluxe versions are non-starters for any clear-thinking player who’s been around since launch. And this leaves just the Ultimate option at a price of $100. That’s $100 for expansion that appears to be closer to the shallow end of the pool. $30 for an expansion only release would solve everything, including the need to spend an extra $10 for an additional slot.

For veterans the standard and deluxe options make little to no sense. The only real option is $100 for the ultimate which is a pretty stiff purchase considering the weight of the expansion. By creating a fourth option for just the expansion at a price range around $30 players like myself who have families and lives outside of gaming can afford the release without having to worry.

The white knights can flame this thread all you want, but I know most players were expecting the expansion to be around the $30 range. It’s a fair price considering what’s to be included in HoT.

Orpheal posted what many are presumably thinking. Will this close-knit guild actually come together to remember Doug, or will they be relying on Anet to make something for them?

Let’s be honest here – this is a theme park video game. If one of my real life friends passed away I wouldn’t be looking for a digital commerative tombstone, I’d be making arrangements to pay my respects to his family.

I’m so sorry to hear about the loss. I too have made lasting friends from GW1, although most moved on from GW2 rather quickly.

It’s a great idea to make a commerative icon in-world, however unless its already in the code and future guild masters can lay down similar items I don’t see it happening. Anet will not allow themselves to favor one instance. In doing so they will open themselves up to future requests which may or may not be factual. I can list other practical reasons why, but you get the idea.

I think a player-driven memorial service would have a great impact on remembering your fallen leader. Something to think about.

Hard to call Heart of Thorns a full on expansion. The PvE content from all accounts is thin and contained in three overlapping maps. One PvP map, one WvW map and trait reworkings (again) is not enough to bring back the old war horses or attract new players IMO.

And anyone who mentions precursor crafting as expansion-level gaming hasn’t been keeping up with current events the past three years.

I was quietly hoping for a new continent to enjoy with added personal story missions. Oh well.

lordkrall.7241:

ZudetGambeous.9573:

A HoT sized expansion every 3 years is obviously unacceptable.

And yet a FF sized expansion every five years is totally okay? We should use the original FF-release after all.

A Realm Reborn was released August 2013. A year after the initial launch they had already announced plans to re-launch so obviously that’s not the time for an expansion. So counting the time between relaunch and now…the first expansion is right on time.

FFIV is a beast of an MMO. Besides the level cap that white knights love to point to and mock the expansion is releasing a new playable race, new regions, dungeons and new skills for existing progressions. Plus fat flying chocobo.

CureForLiving.5360:

Jerus.4350:

Killface.1896:

Its a expansion ofc we get dungeons

Pretty sure they said that we aren’t, at least not tied to the expansion.

They didn’t say that. They didn’t say anything either way. Which most people assumed means no.

No. More. Dungeons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umpR6LhBhW4 @4:15

Regarding players who recieve multiple drops, Anet has already come out and said its a limitation in their sytem. Let this be a lessoned learned not to design beta key drops this way in the future.

Valento.9852:

I’ve gone sick of farming. It is not fun. Tried switching maps (Dry Top, SW) but no luck. I’m not even interested in participating in beta anymore. Only regret is that I felt like I lost my time the entire weekend.

This seems to be the growing opinion. A lot of older players were drawn into farming SW and Dry Top only to come away feeling cheated out of their time.

Jordo.5913:

Blanche Neige.7241:

It’s not because you spent XX amount of time farming something that you have the certaincy you’ll get that item.

I find it quite amusing to see people who farm hours on end to get a portal and complain they don’t get it.

It’s only for a beta test where a very small portion of the map will be available with only a fraction of the content that will be in HoT available.

It’s not as if this item gives you access to a super duper secret zone where you can drop super duper items….

Why don’t you spare yourself all that stress and deception? Play as you do usually, and if you drop a portal, good for you. Otherwise, it’s not the end of the world. Just wait for the open beta when the expansion will be much more complete and will give you access to a lot more stuff.

If i play as I normally do, I wouldn’t be in maps like SW and DT, in fact, that would be the last place I would be. I would probably be leveling my mesmer instead.

Focus on what you want to do and not what you feel you have to. I ran SW again for a day or two, realized this portal is not worth the headache and went back to finish my ranger. It’s just beta, and a sectioned off beta at that.

In fact I plan to take a break of GW2 after this weekend so I’m not heading into HoT burnt out.

met.9653:

Nice carrot on stick anet. They probably notice number of online players drop so they made “special beta drop event” just to encourage people to return…Sorry i will not waist time for that grind rng shi*.

Agree. Five hours and numerous VW completes and nothing. Clever way for Anet to reinvigorate a stalled player base.

I ran a few VW’s start to finish, got nothing. Knowing how crappy my RNGness is I’m not to going waste too much of my time for a closed-beta. We still have open beta and eventually launch to experience HoT.

I’ll keep it simple: option 2.5 is best. And thank you for taking the time to discuss alternatives.

sMihaly.1492:

what if… ppl with insufficient AP would’nt be able to see AP restricted LFGs

I love this idea. Create AP levels, if your account doesn’t have it too bad you can work your way up like the rest of us.

Many fond memories in GW1. I would love to see a big Anet sponsored event happen. Count me in.

TheDraco.3965:

Its not reasonable to expect accountability from dozens of players that don’t have the same investment as you.

You’re playing an MMO, not a members-only private server dungeon romp. The focus of new content should be geared towards the masses with challenging group content to mirror Vinewraith, Marionette etc.

Tequatl should also be looked at as a great example of map-wide coordination done right to achieve a lofty reward. I’d love to see an event or two like this in HoT.

Bishop.7140:

There is a permenant hair style kit you can buy for 800 golds.

You mean the one for 2,179 gold? As it is, 250 gold costs 2,139 gems, so spending 2,179 gold on a contract is not very feasible.

The incremental option has a much lower entry barrier and would eventually accrue over time. 250 Gems for a self-style kit unlocks one choice. To unlock another spend 250 more.

I’m not opposed to more elegant Gem Store items, but the idea of armor giving off equal or more animations than Legendaries does not sit well. Granted players can already buy their way into a precursor and stockpile the T6 materials, but they still need map completion. Right now the game is affordable for many – adding a premium club will ruffle a few feathers to say the least. Let’s not turn the game into an rich/elitist affair.

The new hair styles are lovely. I happily plunked down $10 for a couple kits. My suggestion as the title conveys….what if we could swap to hairstyles we’ve purchased in the past? Somewhere in the system there has to be a log showing what style was used with each kit. In the same vein of “unlocking” a skin, can we unlock a hairstyle? You can even add a cooldown if you wish.

This suggestion would essentially split hairstyles from body types and tattoos which shouldn’t not be changed lightly and require a one-time use kit.

Taking this idea one step further – you could add a new achievement! Hairstyle collections, buy them all. You’d have more of my money.