Guild Wars 2

Lord Kuru.3685:

Bearhugger.4326:

I’ll be honest. I expect their first raids to have some serious problems. I expect massive complains about overpowered classes, overused builds, cheap strategies allowing to “cheat” an encounter, and so on.

But over the time I’m confident they will refine and it will eventually be good.

Let’s see their track record on refining content:

• Open world dynamic event-chain-based gameplay: abandoned.
• Dungeons: abandoned.
• Fractals: abandoned.
• Guild Missions: abandoned.

Fractals and guild missions are both seeing some additions and changes with HoT, though both are long overdue. Fractals have had some new instances and improvements already, but guild missions have remained mostly unchanged for a very long time. But aside from fractal level cap, I don’t think there’s been any indication of content changes for either, just overhauls in rewards and mechanics like putting some guild missions into instances.

Dynamic event chains have definitely been swept under the rug, aside from bug fixes. And dungeons aren’t in a much better place.

Torsailr.8456:

Distaste.4801:

The horrible class balance will mean that certain builds will find it easy and others will find it absolutely impossible.

This is purely Learn to Play. I have yet to find any content I could not complete with any profession. If I had trouble it’s because I wasn’t very good with the class. This is not a Raid issue.

I think both of these are on the extremes of the issue. I don’t think anything is really impossible for a certain class, but they’re certainly not equal.

Some are inherently easier or more challenging to play, and there are differences in survivability, support, and damage ouput. Two classes that bring fairly even DPS, can have huge differences in the amount of support or survivability they have available. The class that brings the that DPS, but also brings valuable support is definitely not balanced with a class that only matches the DPS.

I do think that much of the problem lies with these overly generic ‘roles’ GW2 has. Every class is set up to where DPS is the primary role, and the others exist in varying degrees as a compliment to that. Without specific roles to counter, disrupt, mitigate, etc, the threat of boss encounters is limited to something we have to dodge/reflect or use some gimmicky mechanic to avoid.

The example in today’s stream of opening a path to jump off a platform to avoid a nuke, then catching an updraft to glide back to the fight just strikes me a gimmick that will get old very quickly after you’ve learned to do it once.

Windsagio.1340:

mrstealth.6701:

I never said it was just a skin, but that’s definitely the main reason most people have them. The QoL aspect is a secondary thing, that didn’t even exist for a long time, and that comes with its own downsides.

People are going along that line with the “There are no stat bonuses!”

Without putting any judgement on whether its right or wrong to do so, I think we need to keep it totally clear that there’s a strong (and intentional) item incentive to doing raids: Unique prestige gear with (minor) in-game effects that is unattainable either way.

~~~

This is the basis of the discussion. This is why people are upset at the concept.

To me it mainly says that Anet thinks they need to seriously sweetn the pot to get people to actually raid :p

It’s just not really much different, at the base level, than other items we already have that require doing certain things in the game. There is pvp-exclusive armor, and armor that requires achievement hunting in LS. If you want max-stat ascended armor, you pretty much have to craft it, unless RNG smiles on you to an absurd degree. Should the drop rates on ascended armor chests be raised because I don’t want to craft it?

I don’t think it’s a realistic expectation to have every piece of gear, no matter what prestige/QoL feature it carries, to be obtainable via enough different methods to suit every player. I’d like to see an option to get this through pvp like we can dungeon items, but even if that does happen there will be people upset because they don’t like raids or pvp.

I don’t really care for the dungeons in GW2, and I don’t care for the conquest game mode…but I still did them to make the legendary weapons I have. If someone is really that determined to not raid, I’m sure others will be selling raid runs just like they do with dungeons now.

“I don’t want to do x content” is simply not a very good justification for items needing an alternate acquisition method, when the items in question have such minor benefits over more readily obtained items. I’d be all for this if the armor was matter-of-fact better, but not over a skin and a QoL feature.

Windsagio.1340:

mrstealth.6701:

Windsagio.1340:

mrstealth.6701:

Malediktus.9250:

Since legendary armor is cosmetic only and offers no stat advantage over ascended, there is no issue if non raiders cannot get it.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. The only difference between this and existing legendaries is that it might require something needing a party. And that’s assuming these items won’t be made available in pve, like the current dungeon tokens are.

I would certainly prefer that they give the reward track option. It does open up another (likely less efficient) option for those with no interest/time for larger-party gameplay. But the fact that’s a primarily cosmetic thing doesn’t make that an important thing to add.

Legendaries aren’t just skin swapping, you also usually get infinite stat swaps on them, it’s a nice QOL bonus

It’s a quite costly QoL bonus, though. For the time/money/effort put into a legendary, you could change stats on an ascended item quote a few times. That does come at the cost of losing runes, but stat swapping legendary armor is also very likely going to make the rune obsolete, or sub-optimal at best.

I still have alternate weapons for my legendaries (even if they’re using the same skin) just because I still need new sigils along with the stat change.

Still, though, I’d like to see alternates for obtaining as many legendary materials as possible. PvP reward tracks could cover a lot of them, as they do with dungeon tokens now.

[edit]
I do feel it’s relevant to point out that I’m not a fan of raid style content. And I’ll likely not do any of them more than a couple times, if at all. As much as I’d like to see those other options, I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

I agree it’s a costly QOL bonus, but saying ’it’s just a skin’ is a bit disingenuous, it’s intentionally much more than just a skin.

I never said it was just a skin, but that’s definitely the main reason most people have them. The QoL aspect is a secondary thing, that didn’t even exist for a long time, and that comes with its own downsides.

If we want to get really technical and picky with gear being “better”, there are certainly advantages to not having a single set of gear that you can stat swap.

Someone with two sets of armor, each runed for its own purpose, is going to have an advantage over your single legendary set. Unless you really want to buy a new set of strength runes every time you swap to zerker/DPS stats.

You also get different armor looks, without using trans charges with every style swap.

Celtic Lady.3729:

So, GW2 is now just like every other MMO on the market. We’ve degenerated into raiders vs. non-raiders, the haves and the have-nots, the best gear (stat-switching anytime, particle effects) on raiders and crap on everyone else.

Cool. Figured this would happen eventually.

It’s an issue in other games because their raids have gear that is absolutely better, in a sense of vertical progression. Those that have it, have a more effective and powerful character.

What makes GW2 what it is, is largely the fact that it lacks that barrier between player types. And it will continue lacking that barrier even if legendary armor has no alternative than to raid.

It’s a skin and a QoL/convenience feature, not better gear.

Windsagio.1340:

mrstealth.6701:

Malediktus.9250:

Since legendary armor is cosmetic only and offers no stat advantage over ascended, there is no issue if non raiders cannot get it.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. The only difference between this and existing legendaries is that it might require something needing a party. And that’s assuming these items won’t be made available in pve, like the current dungeon tokens are.

I would certainly prefer that they give the reward track option. It does open up another (likely less efficient) option for those with no interest/time for larger-party gameplay. But the fact that’s a primarily cosmetic thing doesn’t make that an important thing to add.

Legendaries aren’t just skin swapping, you also usually get infinite stat swaps on them, it’s a nice QOL bonus

It’s a quite costly QoL bonus, though. For the time/money/effort put into a legendary, you could change stats on an ascended item quote a few times. That does come at the cost of losing runes, but stat swapping legendary armor is also very likely going to make the rune obsolete, or sub-optimal at best.

I still have alternate weapons for my legendaries (even if they’re using the same skin) just because I still need new sigils along with the stat change.

Still, though, I’d like to see alternates for obtaining as many legendary materials as possible. PvP reward tracks could cover a lot of them, as they do with dungeon tokens now.

[edit]
I do feel it’s relevant to point out that I’m not a fan of raid style content. And I’ll likely not do any of them more than a couple times, if at all. As much as I’d like to see those other options, I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

Malediktus.9250:

Since legendary armor is cosmetic only and offers no stat advantage over ascended, there is no issue if non raiders cannot get it.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. The only difference between this and existing legendaries is that it might require something needing a party. And that’s assuming these items won’t be made available in pve, like the current dungeon tokens are.

I would certainly prefer that they give the reward track option. It does open up another (likely less efficient) option for those with no interest/time for larger-party gameplay. But the fact that’s a primarily cosmetic thing doesn’t make that an important thing to add.

I really hope there are more than 4 armor sets. And 4 including legendary is still pretty bad, because that’s not exactly an investment most people are going to go for…even if they do like the set. It’s still an option, but having a wider selection of more obtainable sets would be much better. They should be putting out enough options in style to give a good chance of everyone liking at least one or two. Fewer sets just means more disappointed players. They can’t satisfy everyone, but they should try harder than this for the price they are asking.

I want to be excited about HoT. I want to want it. But most of what they’re telling us is so underwhelming to me. I just can’t justify $50 for what they’ve shown, and the hopes and unspecified promises of more to come later.

Those making a fuss over phone number disclosure and privacy really need to take a few more seconds to read what was said. You don’t have to use SMS at all. There are two other options, using WinAuth or Google Authenticator.

I don’t know much about WinAuth, but I can say that anyone throwing a fit about privacy over Google Authenticator is doing so out of ignorance. Just take a look at the permissions it asks for. They are about as benign as they can be.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2

I’d guess that most of you worried about privacy with that app likely have much worse installed on your phones right now.

All this really does is increase account security for everyone. Good password or not, having 2-factor is more secure than not having it. And the majority of players won’t even have to bother with re-authenticating very often. Even if you do change networks/IP very often, it’s taking a few extra seconds to type in a code. And those that end up having to go through this “inconvenience” more often, are the ones that need it the most, because they’re probably using hotspots which come with their own inherent security risks.

Kimyrielle.3826

I am sure you will have fun explaining to said 100 online services who you are in case should you ever lose your smartphone or have it stolen.

Write down/copy the time-based code you’re given to setup Win/Google Auth and keep it in a safe place. Lose your device? Just put that same code into your new one. Problem solved. This works with anything using Google Auth.

I’ve not encountered a 2-factor system that didn’t have some quite reasonable way to restore/recover should your phone be lost or reset. They just take some degree of paying attention and being responsible. If you’re given a way to backup that information and choose to ignore it, that is your own fault.

That is also why SMS is their recommended method. Because they know people are careless, do not think of future circumstances, and do not pay attention to easy steps that could prevent future problems.

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

it bothers me that they seem to be forcing HoT out… they’ve had one wvw test. They haven’t even shown two elites and haven’t playtested raid content… this xpac is in no way ready to be released in 2 months…

Most of what they’ve pushed out since LS2 started wasn’t ready to be released. And that includes the updates that didn’t even add new content. Some of the bugs that made it to live were mind-boggling.

Morfedel.4165:

Solomon Darkfury.3729:

Yaaaaayyyy can’t wait to not have a Halloween event this year! Seriously? Ruin the best holiday event in gw2?!

They could always do both at once; especially if they just recycle the previous year, then thats no work at all.

Frankly I think the xpac is more important.

They can’t straight up recycle last year’s event unless they temporarily reverted LA to it’s previous state. But the rest of the event was already mostly recycled last year, from the 2013 event. They’ve probably already got a (partly, at least) decorated LA to host the event.

They didn’t let GW Nightfall interfere with GW1’s 2nd Halloween event with its release just a few days before. The event was even live in Elona’s capital city.

Seth.8906:

use Google and see… tweet can be faked
p.s.
sorry for by bad eng XD

Yeah, it’s definitely legit and from the official account. The twitter name is in the URL, /GuildWars2. That’s their account.

Kidel.2057:

GussJr.1643:

I don’t see it on their twitter feed either.

it’s hidden from their twitter homepage, but it’s there.

I didn’t even know twitter had tweet hiding.

Am I the only one that doesn’t see this on twitter unless it’s a direct link to that tweet?

Wildkitten.3872:

mrstealth.6701:

Wildkitten.3872:

It’s still not the regular borderlands.

Desert Borderland is the ‘regular’ borderland once HoT is out, if not sometime before that. It is replacing the existing borderland.

You still don’t say why Anet would abandon a hugely successful buy once, play forever model. Of course you can’t really address that because that alone sinks the entire F2P argument.

They would abandon it if they thought they could make more money from gem sales in a free core game than they would by continuing to sell it. And it’s still not going to be a purely free game, as HoT and future expansions will be sold at a retail price.

The core game is 3 years old, and has already had multiple $10 sales, in addition to being pushed as a bonus/bundled product with HoT pre-orders. Most people that were going to pay to play the core game have done so by now. That market is tapped out. Their focus has shifted onto selling HoT, not marketing the core game.

Wildkitten.3872:

It’s still not the regular borderlands.

Desert Borderland is the ‘regular’ borderland once HoT is out, if not sometime before that. It is replacing the existing borderland.

Wildkitten.3872:

People say “Well the video says they can do WvW!!!”. Yeah, and guess what, the data mined information says that only EB and the borderlands will be restricted. Guess what, Edge of the Mists is still WvW.

And the clip following that statement shows players fighting in the new Desert Borderland, not Edge of the Mists.

People also want to point to the fact that Thatshaman data mined it last year and say because of that it’s worthless. Well, then I suppose those of you who claim it’s worthless also think pre cursor crafting won’t actually happen because it was found in the data files about the same time and has not been put in the game yet and won’t till HoT is released.

The restrictions datamined back then were also already implemented for the free trial events later last year. We don’t have any evidence that the exact set of restrictions will apply now.

And pre-cursor crafting is already announced as a feature. We know for a fact that it is coming. But there is no reason to assume the pre-cursor datamine will prove to be accurate. That system has had a long time to be tweaked and changed. Just like the account restrictions.

Zaron.1987:

mrstealth.6701:

Zaron.1987:

Kidel.2057:

Betting 1g that this is their only countermesure: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/news/SMS-Restrictions-and-New-Accounts/first#post5424976

i dont bet……

want not loosing 1 g

Yeah…

I’m hoping that’s not all there is standing between RMT’ers and a fleet of free accounts. It’s not much more than a minor inconvenience, since they can just setup as many as they want in Google Authenticator or WinAuth.

also if it were phone number only restricted it would be no problem for goldsellers etc

They’d still need to be paying for actual carrier phone numbers. Free VoIP numbers like Google Voice aren’t accepted by Anet’s system.

Zaron.1987:

Kidel.2057:

Betting 1g that this is their only countermesure: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/info/news/SMS-Restrictions-and-New-Accounts/first#post5424976

i dont bet……

want not loosing 1 g

Yeah…

I’m hoping that’s not all there is standing between RMT’ers and a fleet of free accounts. It’s not much more than a minor inconvenience, since they can just setup as many as they want in Google Authenticator or WinAuth.

If you have a smartphone..and it’s getting harder to get one that isn’t…you don’t even need mobile service, since you can just use Google Authenticator which you can setup over wifi. And if that isn’t an option, there is even a Windows application (WinAuth) to handle it.

Sure, it is a minor inconvenience, and it will stop some people. But it’s a good idea for everyone to be using 2-factor, because every hijacked account hurts the game economy as a whole.

Substance E.4852:

RoRo.8270:

ITT people overreacting on barely any information. How do we know they are traditional raids? Knowing anet I doubt they are and if they are why does it matter?

Because Guild Wars players have had a hate kitten for WoW since the GW:Prophecies days.

Anything that is in WoW is automatically bad and should never be in GW2. You want mounts? Well kitten that idea, WoW has mounts and WoW is the antichrist as long as you ignore the Riding Broom and Magic Carpet.

As someone that has no love for WoW and has played GW since 2005, I can say I don’t really care what WOW has or hasn’t done. I don’t care for typical raid content, but I also don’t care if it it gets added to GW2. The only concern I do have regarding it is the effect that type of content can have on a community. There is already more than enough elitism in dungeons, having larger parties just makes that mentality even harder to overcome.

Maybe Anet will have a different take on raids, like they do with other types of content. I don’t really expect them to copy the style from other MMOs, but it’s hard to not have some similarities. I’d like to see this turn out to be something I might actually do, and not some disappointment that involves an hour of trying to organize builds and roles for 30 players.

tldr
I don’t really care as long as it’s not some elitism fueled mess. As for the whether it’s actually something good or bad, I’ll wait till we actually see it.

Test.8734:

mrstealth.6701:

We went from HoT requiring GW2, to HoT including it, to GW2 just being free to everyone in 8 months time. It was barely two months ago when GW2 was announced as being a bonus to new HoT buyers. And now that’s already changing before HoT is even out. I get the impression that Anet doesn’t really know what they want to do with the core game. It just has a feeling of uncertainty and instability…is there some in-fighting over what to do with the game as a marketable product? (cough Nexon attempting another power grab)

I think it’s a matter of GW2 not being as successful as ArenaNet had hoped, hence the need for increasingly desperate tactics (“We won’t make expansions but focus on the Living World instead”, “We will put the Living World on hold and work on an expansion”, “We will charge a lot for the expansion! But hey, new players get the core game for free, and there won’t be a ‘core’ game anymore, all GW2 will be GW2 + HoT”, “No, actually, we will keep a separate GW2 game but it will be free to play”).

Seems pretty likely as well. Like someone mentioned above, it could be directly related to HoT sales not being what they expected. Which does make sense considering the massive PR debacle that came right after pre-orders went up.

Devildoc.6721:

Once the F2P floodgates open you will see the quality of players from those countries who can’t even afford to pay $10. They don’t speak English, they’re extremely rude players that harass people because they feel their country should ‘take over’ the server.

As much as I’d like to just dismiss claims like this as stereotyping…I can’t. Because I’ve seen it happen in other games. It’s, of course, not all of the players from these countries. But there can be a large number of them, as well as English-speakers that are just as disruptive.

I don’t recall seeing a lot of that in Tera when I played for a while earlier this year. Though, chats were still rather bad at times(worse than anything I’ve seen in GW2). So it does seem that phenomenon can be one that doesn’t last. But it certainly does happen to at least some games that make a F2P move.

Khisanth.2948:

It will depend on how badly things blow up.

Just look at what happen with HoT and the character slot.

Heh, true. They could still make some kinda screwup in this switchover that needs some smoothing over. I just don’t see anything inherently wrong with going F2P that would call for it.

HoT getting that char slot was definitely needed with the offering to new customers. Even that is now changed though, with their “free core game” now seeming to be a baseline for anyone that wants it. I do think it’s an unusual time to do this, after making such a big deal over new players getting the game for free with a HoT purchase.

We went from HoT requiring GW2, to HoT including it, to GW2 just being free to everyone in 8 months time. It was barely two months ago when GW2 was announced as being a bonus to new HoT buyers. And now that’s already changing before HoT is even out. I get the impression that Anet doesn’t really know what they want to do with the core game. It just has a feeling of uncertainty and instability…is there some in-fighting over what to do with the game as a marketable product? (cough Nexon attempting another power grab)

BrooksP.4318:

xarallei.4279:

People are going to be demanding compensation for this too? You don’t need any kitten compensation.

Yeah not looking forward to the whine walls about people feeling they “deserve” compensation for buying and playing a game for 1-3 years. However it will happen sadly.

I had my issues with their HoT pricing/bundling, and don’t have much hope in F2P turning out all that well. But I don’t expect anything as compensation for this change. I bought the collector’s edition back in 2012, and I got my money’s worth out of it. Anet doesn’t owe me any compensation, just respect and fair/equal treatment as a customer. Which I feel they’ve given me, for the most part. They made some missteps with HoT’s initial bundling, but did correct that to a fair enough offering.

I will say that some token of appreciation might be a good move to make, but I don’t expect it of them. It was certainly nice when ESO gave former subscribers some cash shop currency, but even then I felt that was more of a gesture of appreciation and gratitude than some necessary compensation.

I really hope they’ve got some strict limits planned, especially for the economic side of things. If not, this move could easily destroy the game. I expect that they’ve already planned some, but I don’t have a great deal of faith in Anet fully understanding the implications and taking enough precautions.

As for the game community, GW2 is definitely designed to encourage cooperation and helpfulness over competition and toxicity. But going free to play also removes the entry barrier to those that have no interest aside from being disruptive and toxic. Not that the game is free of trolls, elitists, jerks now, but at least they needed enough interest in the game itself to pay for it. The only barrier to the fresh trolling ground of a free game is a few hours or less of download time.

I don’t expect the community go to crap, but I do expect to see some change for the worse. The free games I’ve played do seem to, at the least, have a much more ‘colorful’ map/zone chat in early areas and cities.

Good to hear that it’s working.

If you didn’t get around to cleaning dust out of it, that’s still a good idea. You can probably google the make/model and find some info to guide you if you’re not sure about popping off a bottom panel. Sometimes you can even get a good bit out just by shooting air through the vents, but (depending on design) that can push some dust into other areas inside instead of blasting it out.

Laptop coolers can be a decent investment if you’re playing games or doing other demanding things a lot. A ‘passive’ one just raises it up a little, and allows more airflow underneath. A model with fans gives more airflow, but can be problematic if the laptop has fans/intakes on the underside.

It’s interesting that the game did stop responding during that reload, but I think I’ve seen similar behavior before after a black-screen disconnect.

More importantly, the options menu over the black screen shows your ping ingame as 0. That’s another sign of a disconnet, and the game losing contact with the server. Which is a bit odd seeing that you are actively pinging it at the same time. Your latency isn’t amazing, but that it still low enough that it shouldn’t cause any connection problems.

With your security software’s firewall disabled, windows firewall could be re-enabled. It shouldn’t cause any problems since the game doesn’t need to be accepting incoming connections, but it’s still possible that it could prevent recovery from a hiccup and drop the connection entirely.

Aside from Windows firewall, the only thing that comes to mind (and this is a stretch) is a web filter component of the antivirus. But this would most likely only apply if you’ve changed your game client port to 80, 443, or another common HTTP/HTTPS port. Changing the antivirus to monitor every port could also cause that filtering to be active/monitoring the game connection on it’s default port. I’m not aware of any that have that behavior by default, so if you’ve not changed it or don’t have that much control over it, it would only be a potential issue if you changed the game’s client port.

The other likely local culprit would be your router or modem. But that shouldn’t be suddenly causing an issue without settings being changed or firmware being updated. Some routers do have automatic firmware updates, so it’s possible there was a change you aren’t aware of if you have a router with that feature. Also, if you’re using a wireless connection to your router, try a wired one if possible. If that’s not feasible, try changing the wireless channel.

My guess would be that it’s probably not something with your PC, but that’s just the easiest set of potential problems to rule out. I do still recommend a traceroute, since that can show network issues that ping will not.

First step is determining what is causing the BSOD. Which should be displayed within the BSOD itself. Because this is an easily reproducible crash, it’s easier to recreate it than go digging through event logs or crash dump files.

The sections highlighted in this image are where the important information is
http://www.prime-expert.com/articles/b03/images/bsod_structure.png

If any application or driver is causing the crash, its filename will be shown here, usually as a .exe or .sys file. The upper section likely contains enough to identify the source, but stop codes can be relevant as well.

Since this is happening a few minutes into a gaming session, it could possibly be heat related. You can try to clean out the heatsink for your CPU/GPU. Your laptop should have a panel on the bottom that is held down by a few small screws. If there are multiple removable panels, you’ll need the one that is covering the area where the laptop’s air exhaust vent is located. Remove the panel and use a can of compressed air to blow out any dust around air intakes/vents and the metal heatsink (looks like a small radiator) for the CPU/GPU.

Use only a can of air for this. Vacuums or compressors can severely damage sensitive electronics.

BondageBill.4021:

On the topic of clearly defining what you get for the $50 HoT price tag, I want to know if purchasing HoT will guarantee access to the full LS releases post HoT. Many people are assuming HoT will entitle them to all future content (until the next xpac), but ANet has already shown us that they are willing to charge existing customers for LS content.

I was thinking about that a few weeks ago, but didn’t get around to posting anything about it. It’s definitely something that needs an answer, especially since there is already a precedent for Anet doing it.

If they’ve made any statements claiming LS3 is part of HoT, then they are obligated to let anyone owning the expansion access it. Putting it behind an additional paywall like they did with LS2 would make that false advertisement. I’m not certain if they have actually stated it so clearly.

In any case, charging for it would be a really crappy move on their part. Having to pay for LS2 chapters just because you weren’t actively playing is bad enough. Charging extra for content that is the main story element of an expansion they’re already charging for would be a new low.

LostBalloon.6423:

Like I’ve said quite a few times, ANET doesn’t need to spend hours showing us all the tooltips and every single skill and trait, or walk us through a story. We, I, just want to have a good idea of what I’d actually be getting for those 50$.. Same with the challenging group content, a small 3-5 min trailer showing what we can expect from it. We don’t need a full walkthrough of the content before I even get to play it (doing that would just turn the expansion stale before we even get to play it!!)

Same for specialisations, we get it, we just want to know what the missing ones are themed to (specially the people that main those classes, but you don’t need to go in dept the way you have been doing with individual streams which is just dragging on…)

Lastly, ANET, please find a way to at least have one of your communication channels that contains all the important news about the game, right now we have to fish for it all over the place, and really, the forums is not the best place to spread important information as most of the playerbase does not even visit them.

(I have this ominous feeling like I’m going to get hit by the censorship squad…)

Anet has definitely not handled information about HoT very well. Each announced spec has an exclusive reveal on some game news site, a news/blog post on the main GW2 site, and an episode of PoI or RU largely dedicated to it. While a simple, yet vital, piece of information like whether or not a customer actually has to buy HoT to play Stronghold is buried under all of that as a brief mention in post, article, or video.

While I do like having detailed info available, sorting through that should not be the only way to get that important information. Information that should be easy to find. It belongs on the main HoT page on the GW2 site. But the HoT mainpage is the same as it’s been since January. The only additions have been the stream of news links to the previously mentioned blog/news posts. That page should be updated with information that is important to consumers instead of being an HTML HoT poster.

A customer, or more importantly a potential customer, going to that site to find out something about specializations is given this.

Specializations
Evolve your gameplay. With profession specializations, you’ll unlock access to a weapon previously unavailable to your profession as well as new traits, skills, and unique mechanics – all of which will transform your profession into something new.

If they want any more information they’ll have to start digging through months worth of linked posts in the news section, googling something they don’t even know the name of, or reading through community created wiki pages. The mainpage should have a concise description of each of those specializations, with links to the detailed articles/videos. But right now, the only place to get useful information like that is the wiki that Anet’s customers create.

I like the idea of gliders from collections, just ones not requiring gemstore items. Especially when those items aren’t currently obtainable, and were only available for 24 hours when they were.

I was referring to the season passes that are common other game genres. I don’t know of any MMOs that have done that yet. Not that ‘normal’ single/multiplayer games’ overall business models are directly comparable, but that particular aspect is pretty much the same. The biggest difference being that another game’s season pass usually covers a specific set of content, rather than unknown future updates.

IndigoSundown.5419:

As to extended content beyond the HoT box… I’m still not sure why you’re having a problem with this issue. If there are post-launch story updates that take place in Heart of Maguma, and since you can’t go there without purchase, then HoT will be required.

I don’t have any issue with that on its own. It’s not really any different than the season pass type of DLC model that’s common in other games. It’s the combination of that with GW2’s existing business model, the fact that the game is being marketed as an expansion (not a season pass), and the impression quite a few of us get from Anet that HoT is already releasing rather light on content.

Anet has already stopped other content for the better part of a year in order to work on HoT. I really hope that trend doesn’t continue after release, and that we see other content (even if it does require owning HoT) being produced along side the remainder of HoT with the added revenue they will continue collecting. To not do that is like double-dipping from their customers, as if the expansion were worth its up front cost in addition to x months added micro-transaction revenue.

Of course, we don’t know what will happen yet. But Anet isn’t giving a good impression with the decision to hold off all content while they’re rushing to get HoT out the door. Maybe give us SAB or some of those 20-ish mini-games/activities the game was supposed to have had at launch. Three years after release, and I still can’t have a bar brawl (unless they’re trying to count that drinking game) or go to the shooting gallery they were telling us about well before release.

Vayne.8563:

Anet is doing what it does to get exposure out to people not already playing the game…and it’s working. Every time they go to a new convention and announce something completely new, all the MMO sites and some gaming sites cover it, and more sales are made.

Anet doesn’t have to try to sell the game to us. They have to try to sell the game to people who haven’t already bought into Guild Wars.

I do think you’re right about that, but it’s really backwards from what they should be doing. It’s easier to keep an existing customer than to get a new one. Sure, they’re getting new customers with hype but that will run dry sooner rather than later. Keeping your existing customers happy insures stability and continued revenue.

Their entire marketing scheme for HoT just gives me the impression of a quick cashout, rather than a product they’re investing in for the long haul.

I want to want it. I want to be excited about it. But they just aren’t giving me the impression that it’s worth it in the long run.

Looking forward beyond HoT’s release, it seems likely that some of HoT’s marketed features will likely be released over time(HoT’s story/LS3). If that is considered part of HoT’s purchase/features, then it should be included in that ‘what my $50 gets me’.

Where it gets a bit muddy is the fact that there is other money coming in from customers during that time. Not to say that Anet has to (or even should) give any info about their internal expenses/re-investments/etc, but rather that consumers should know what they’re supporting in a more general sense.

Looking back to GW2’s release, from a generalized consumer perspective, we paid $60 for a game and were then marketed gemstore items to pay for future content. Now of course, Anet was using re-invested profits from game copy sales in addition to gemstore earnings to fund ongoing content. But that is something the consumer doesn’t see, so the general perception is that the gemstore funds updates. At some point after release, after sales drop off, it does truly rely on the gemstore. But there is a more clear line from our perspective that starts right after the retail sale.

What’s different with HoT, is that perception of a clear line between the retail cost and additional support doesn’t exist unless Anet explains it. From Anet’s internal financial perspective, it’s not really any different, but our perception as consumers is. We’re being sold a season pass, without knowing when the season ends and also being asked to support content beyond the season. It’s difficult for a consumer to get a sense of what they are paying for/supporting.

That, combined with the way HoT exclusive features and other features are being marketed as one, creates the need for clarity in where that line lies. Continuing to market “free”/otherwise-supported content as a feature requiring purchase is deceptive, and we do have the right to know what our money is getting us, compared to what we get without paying.

[quote=5402261;Galen Grey.4709:
No an expansion doesnt mean all content has to stop. What exactly do you do however when your content is a story line and that story line ends exactly before your expansion releases? what sort of content would you release?[/quote]

SAB is the first thing that comes to mind. Or how about a shorter story arc that isn’t directly part of the season to season story.

how is that the same thing? Anet tell you exactly how much each item costs and if you order multiple stuff they’ll give you a breakdown of what costs how much. but thats not what you were requesting originally. You wanted to know where the money you pay goes which is entirely different then knowing what each item costs.

The “exactly” was what I was agreeing with in the post you quoted. That we’re not entitled to a detailed expenses report. It was a reply to someone else, about an (admittedly) overly broad statement I had made before that did make it appear I wanted a detail expense report for HoT. Poor choice of wording on my part, but I don’t want an expenses report.

I want to know what is actually part of/requiring HoT, and what is being provided/paid for otherwise. As in if I buy HoT, what is that money going toward in terms of the product I receive, not including all the other things I’d get if I didn’t buy it. Not a breakdown of how much each feature costs. Just a listing of what I’m actually buying, without the extra padding of features that don’t require an expansion purchase.

Yeah, I’d expect that for a pizza because it’s a customized order with optional add-ons and costs to me. HoT is a single product with a feature set. It doesn’t have add-ons outside of the already clearly laid out upgraded editions. But it does have a feature list that includes features that aren’t part of the expansion purchase. I want to know what I have to pay that $50 to get, and what I get if I don’t pay that $50(The features/content paid for by their other revenue streams or even by re-investment of HoT’s projected profits. Things that some consider “free”, even though it is being funded).

Galen Grey.4709:

The moment they decided to go for an expansion they had to hold off content releases from the living world (else what are they to release in the expansion right?)

An expansion certainly does not mean that all other content has to stop. That’s not even how Anet handled new content in GW1, which didn’t have any other sources of revenue till long after the final retail release. I think a change of pacing is expected, but to stop entirely for the majority of a year? No.

Do you also expect a break down from a takeout place when you buy a pizza on how the money you pay is going to be spread? 10% pays for the flour, 5% for the stuff on the pizza, 1% goes to pay for the sauce. 20% goes to wages. 10% covers expense, the rest is pure profit. Come on its not realistic.

That is exactly what I agreed to us not having the right to.

But when I order a pizza I do expect to informed (if requested, at least) of the base cost of the pizza, the cost of extra toppings, and how much the delivery fee is. We have a right to know what we’re being charged for and receiving…but not a detailed expenses report.

Ashen.2907:

mrstealth.6701:

but we do have the right to know what precisely the $50 being asked for HoT is paying for (in terms of what we receive, not their expenses) in relation to that.

No you do not.

It is a good idea for you to wait for that to be revealed before buying, but it is not a right. As long as the company doesn’t advertise their product as being something it is not, or containing something that it does not, they are allowed to be mysterious about it.

I was being a bit too broad in my statement (ironically, the same thing I think Anet is doing). While they don’t have to lay out details for every bit of content, they do need to inform customers of the lines between the marketed features that are part of HoT’s purchase, and the ones added for everyone.

They’re already treading into the grey area of being misleading. It’s a stretch to claim false advertisement, but their marketing has been far from clear. And some very simple questions about features have been totally avoided. Being mysterious and not announcing a feature/detail might be alright, but refusing to clarify which aspects of a feature being marketed as part of HoT actually require its purchase is not.

It’s something the pre-order page should really clarify. Especially after the mess it initially triggered. Anet definitely needs some improvements in their marketing.

Consumers have a bit more rights than that. Any company has legal obligations to be honest and forthcoming about what is/isn’t included with a product. About just what it is that you’re paying for. With virtual currency purchases like gems, that probably does end with the fact that it’s a currency to spend in their store or exchange for gold. For an actual product/service like a game or expansion, there are legal protections for consumers regarding the contents of the purchase and the information given to consumers about it before buying. We have the right to accurate and honest information about the products being sold to us.

That includes making their marketing clear about what HoT includes, about what the purchase is required to access, and what is given whether you buy or not (the stuff the gemstore funds). They just don’t have to outright state that what is funding that non-HoT content, but that is already known anyway due to their previous statements.

It’s an area where Anet is already treading into grey territory. Their marketing for HoT so far implies that some features require buying it, while they are available to any player. There is also the (now resolved) matter of their own HoT FAQ claiming that an existing GW2 account was required while marketing the core game with discounts. That wasn’t resolved until after a week-long PR nightmare across their forums and various gaming news sites. They attempted to get away with it by quietly editing that FAQ shortly after pre-orders were available.

The same thing can happen on seemingly level ground, but I think it might be due to slight slopes or ridges making the character very briefly fall. Then when an immob hits during that “fall”, you’re stuck.

Another possible theory I’ve though about is the location of your current target. Perhaps there is some issue with skills not activating when immobilized while facing away from your target. This shouldn’t be an issue with self/untargeted/PBAoE skills, but there is something that can prevent them from activating while on seemingly level ground.

IndigoSundown.5419:

You have no right whatsoever to “know” how the money you’re spending on gems is being used. If anyone would have such a right, it would be owners of NCSoft stock, however, while NCSoft reports revenue by game, they do not report expenses by game.

You’re correct that we don’t have the right to detailed expense reports on where that gemstore money goes, but we do have the right to know what precisely the $50 being asked for HoT is paying for (in terms of what we receive, not their expenses) in relation to that. They’re trying to sell us a retail/digital product (HoT) that’s feature list seems likely blurred into features that were previously stated to be supported via gemstore earnings. We have the right to know where the line between HoT’s value/content and our further supporting of the game/company via the gemstore is.

Galen Grey.4709:

First of all how was Season 3 pushed into HoT release when Season 2 puts us right at the start of HoT? Secondly you’re assuming there will be no content release before HoT comes out. You could be right but there is equal chance you could be wrong. Halloween would hit before then most likely. We dont know for sure they’re going to skip it anyway. We dont even know when HoT will hit.

Not its not a fact all, its an assumption. Sure its possible they stopped contend development for HoT but its equally possible they stopped simply because they had originally planned for HoT to come out right after Season 2 ended but didnt manage to meet the deadline.

I’m fairly certain Anet straight up said they had put other content on hold so the entire company could focus on HoT. It’s not an assumption, it’s what they told us themselves.

Also that Gemshop sales are supposed to finance Living story is also an assumption. they never said LS would exclusively be financed through gemshop sales so much so they’re actually selling it directly.

Their statements in 2013 made it very clear that the gemstore was sustaining content production.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-03-its-unlikely-guild-wars-2-will-ever-get-an-expansion-pack

That is the same song they were singing last year, as well.

If there have been major changes to what the gemstore is supporting, then it is their responsibility to inform their customers. We have a right to know what our gem purchases are funding, versus what HoT’s price is funding. It’s certainly a blurry line at the moment, since it’s already clear that some expansion features aren’t going to be included in-full at release. Other features, like whether or not HoT has story content other than LS3 and how much story will be available at launch, are still unkowns.

Galen Grey.4709:

mrstealth.6701:

Torolan.5816:

Galen Grey.4709:

And thats not considering they actually wanted to give us all of this for free through the living story but no people insisted it had to be an expansion. They obliged and now its a whole story cause its $10 more expensive then the average.

QFT, even when I think the expansion doesn´t really look too exciting at the moment.

It wasn’t free, it was supported by the gemstore. It’s an optional fee, which most of us are probably paying, whether that’s directly with cash or indirectly through the exchange. And I think the idea most had was getting an expansion in addition to ongoing content updates. Maybe not a living story season, but something. Not having a year long content drought, while Anet kept on collecting gemstore profits as they held back that content to sell as its own product.

thats like arguing Youtube isnt free because you’re paying electricity, internet connection and potentially adverts you’re buying off google themselves. Thats wrong the content itself is 100% free. if you decide to donate / buy stuff you want off the gemshop its your choice and a good one at that but in no way shape or form would that be a fee you’re paying for the content.

What year long content drought are you talking about? this is the longest drought we had and if you exclude the trait changes its 8 months not a year. besides I hope you dont think the expansion has only been in development for the last 8 months cause i think thats pretty clearly not the case. Living story ended right when expansion beings that kinda tied them up. They can release a festival or SAB ofcourse but does it make sense to reallocate resources for that at this point?

That is nothing like Youtube’s business model, which is based on advertisers paying them to put ads in our faces. It has nothing to do with the money you pay for utilities. Anet is either selling gems directly to us, or selling them to another player that we buy them from. It’s more akin to a wholesaler-retailer relationship, than a media platform-advertiser one. It’s the direct replacement/alternate to having a monthly fee. If there was no gemstore, we’d all be paying $10-15/mo to play or getting almost zero content outside of expansions.

As for the content drought, it’s going to be 10 months to a year long by the time HoT is actually out. How long HoT has been in development doesn’t really matter. It’s a fact that they ceased development on new playable content to get an expansion out sooner, and LS3 was pushed into HoT’s release because of it. The point is that LS3 is what these months of gemstore sales were supposed to be supporting, yet they are putting it with an expansion as if it adds value to the $50 pricetag.

Galen Grey.4709

Or if you prefer to look at it a different way once Arenanet finished creating the 9 specializations they can decided to forget about specializations and instead create 2 new weird professions.

You’re basically saying that 1 elite spec is about equal to 20% of a profession. Which means that HoT is giving us 2.8 “professions” (120% for rev, then 20% for each of 8 specs) .

Both of GW1’s added $50 campaigns included two entirely new professions, on top of adding 20-30% more skills to all existing professions. That’s equal to at least 4 new professions.

A single new profession and a set of elite specs is a bit light in comparison. It’s not awful, it’s not even unacceptable. But it is a lot less.

Torolan.5816:

Galen Grey.4709:

And thats not considering they actually wanted to give us all of this for free through the living story but no people insisted it had to be an expansion. They obliged and now its a whole story cause its $10 more expensive then the average.

QFT, even when I think the expansion doesn´t really look too exciting at the moment.

It wasn’t free, it was supported by the gemstore. It’s an optional fee, which most of us are probably paying, whether that’s directly with cash or indirectly through the exchange. And I think the idea most had was getting an expansion in addition to ongoing content updates. Maybe not a living story season, but something. Not having a year long content drought, while Anet kept on collecting gemstore profits as they held back that content to sell as its own product.

Loex.5104:

why the hell is this topic still a thing? if you don’t want to pay the price don’t buy the Xpac and/or wait for a sale.

Anet got a huge kittenstorm for not valuing veteran players + they listened and gave us a goodie – we just can hope that they’ve learned something.

Anet did the minimum they could to put out the raging forum fire. But that still leaves HoT being worth its cost up for discussion, which often results in those topics merged into this one.

This type of discussion should exist for every game pre-order, until all details of content are fully known. Every consumer should question the value of the products they buy, or consider buying.

Galen Grey.4709:

Ashen.2907:

New builds for existing professions do not equate to entirely new professions any more than adding new skills for existing professions in Eye of the North.

Only we’re not simply talking about new builds, its not even simply creating new skills either. Its a new trait line, new skills, new elite skill, new mechanic etc per profession which is exactly all the work that would go to in creating another profession.

New skills, new elite skills, and new profession mechanic are all simply just “new skills”. Not three separate things. An elite skill is just a more powerfull skill, and most of the profession mechanics changes we’ve seen so far are just new skills or altered versions of existing F-key skills. I think chronomancer’s Continuum Shift is the only one (so far) that’s actually added a new mechanic to the game, and that’s still just within a single skill.

The elite specializations are a rather big change, but they’re not comparable to adding an entirely new profession. I think it is more of a change than the dozen or so skills EotN added to GW1’s classes, but it’s maybe equal to the 30-ish the campaigns added. A new class adds a new, unique profession mechanic, 6 new specs, a full set of heal/utility/elite skills, and a full set of weapons/weapon skills.

And it’s worth noting that GW1’s campaigns added that much to each existing profession, while also including 2 new ones. For the same price as HoT.

The forum search has never worked properly. The only way to actually search is using an outside search engine, limiting it to results from the forums.

To do this with google, do add the following to the search

site:forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/

You can add any subforum to the end of the URL to the search only that part of the forums.