The microtransactions store ruined guild wars 2

[Condasoft]

ArenaNet, if you’re listening, remember that player goodwill is finite. When the fun starts to feel gated by the gem store, when people feel more exploited than entertained, it's a slippery slope toward player exodus. A game is only as strong as its community, and if things keep getting worse, even the most loyal players will eventually find something better to do.

I get it you have publishers to please, but the core reason people played guild wars 1 was because it offered something different to subscription services like WoW.

I look at the gemstore and I see stupid items in there like the candy corn gobbler, salvage omatic, unbreakable tools, I am concerned the direction this company is going in, these items are added under the guise of being a convenience and being an item sink but really they are items which not owning them ignites that feeling of missing out.

And whilst it's true that anyone could convert gold to gems the fact is most players are not very good at earning gold and most players don't login everyday for their dailies and such I just feel like the gem store is a bit unfair to the casual players that don't study things like event timers and meta trains which really does make guild wars 2 Pay To Win or pay for convenience however you would like to describe it.

*Sighs because he knows fanboys will defend these practices*

[SinisterSlay]

I don't like it either. But in this case, Gw2 has no subscription fee. So they make their money off whales like every other game does. But we get to benefit by playing for free. So I guess it's fine.
I do wish the prices were regionally adjusted, or maybe just cut to 25% of their current price. Every time I go to buy something, I work out the gem cost and realise that one skin costs as much as the whole expansion. They aren't going to change this though. They are actually raising prices by separating items that used to come as combo packs.

[Xeph The Tamagotchi]

dude, unlike most mmos you can do a magical thing called CONVERTING GOLD TO GEMS meaning guess what. you don't have to spend a dime on CRAP outside of the expansions. Besides nothing is truely P2W in that cash shop. majority is convenience at best. though most of it is cosmetic stuff lol. as for SinisterSlay's comment, i get the pricing but sadly it would also open it for abuse since if they did that i could VPN my self to say brazil and buy the same packs at dirt cheap prices. Use to be a common thing with another mmo on steam back when. Instead of paying 25 bucks for a pack i could VPN to another area where the USD is strong and get it at 60-80% off.

[SinisterSlay]

Originally posted by Xeph The Tamagotchi:

dude, unlike most mmos you can do a magical thing called CONVERTING GOLD TO GEMS meaning guess what. you don't have to spend a dime on CRAP outside of the expansions. Besides nothing is truely P2W in that cash shop. majority is convenience at best. though most of it is cosmetic stuff lol. as for SinisterSlay's comment, i get the pricing but sadly it would also open it for abuse since if they did that i could VPN my self to say brazil and buy the same packs at dirt cheap prices. Use to be a common thing with another mmo on steam back when. Instead of paying 25 bucks for a pack i could VPN to another area where the USD is strong and get it at 60-80% off.

That sort of abuse could be solved very easily. You can't buy in a region that isn't where your account was created. Want to move? Sure, send a ticket to support to have your account region moved. Not terribly different than having to send a ticket to have your email changed. Which I did and they resolved in under 24 hours.

[Astrallight]

No one force you to buy anything of it.

[Condasoft]

I own all expansions and the very items I am complaining about being in the game, yes they have to make money but I would just like to point out I have already paid $80 for the digital deluxe version of the game on release and all subsequent expansions thereafter. all in all they've probably made close to $300 from me and this doesn't include the money I have already spent on gems for additional characters, bag/bank expansions/upgrades, I've played since the beta also have decades devotion title, this is an issue that affects all of us as players it's like you want more, having already tasted it I can say I no longer have the appetite for it.

Originally posted by 𐂃𐂃:

lol, regard sees convenience items in store and cries about "p2w".
those items don't help you get an edge over others in pvp, wvw or clearing high end pve content.
they are not paywalled either, exchange in-game gold into gems and get whatever you want.
not our fault regards like you can't even farm enough gold to get whatever they want from the gem store.
I'm swimming in gold by just doing dailies and have already bought all the convenience items.
if you're too regarded, watch from zero to hero series made by a gw2 youtuber.
that guy is doing "only in-game gold for gem store run" and has more stuff that you do after like what? couple of months of gaming?
crawl back to your f2p trash pile mmo-s you came from, regard.

[Nibbie]

Originally posted by Zeta:

I would just like to point out I have already paid $80 for the digital deluxe version of the game on release and all subsequent expansions thereafter... I've played since the beta also have decades devotion title,

If this were true, then you'd know your argument doesn't make sense. All three of the items you specifically mentioned have been in the game for over 10 years, before even a single expansion had been released. If you were "concerned the direction this company is going in", you'd probably have been concerned a decade ago, not now, since they haven't changed direction much since then. Surely if these items were a "slippery slope" that was making players "feel more exploited" and eroding "player goodwill", we'd have seen the effects of that many years ago, not suddenly now or at some undefined point in the future like you suggest.

[Condasoft]

Originally posted by Nibbie:

Originally posted by Zeta:

I would just like to point out I have already paid $80 for the digital deluxe version of the game on release and all subsequent expansions thereafter... I've played since the beta also have decades devotion title,

If this were true, then you'd know your argument doesn't make sense. All three of the items you specifically mentioned have been in the game for over 10 years, before even a single expansion had been released. If you were "concerned the direction this company is going in", you'd probably have been concerned a decade ago, not now, since they haven't changed direction much since then. Surely if these items were a "slippery slope" that was making players "feel more exploited" and eroding "player goodwill", we'd have seen the effects of that many years ago, not suddenly now or at some undefined point in the future like you suggest.

I think I wasn't as concerned until I purchased the gobbler, salvage-o-matic and the infinite tools, up until these they were mostly cosmetic or boosts but now there appears to have been a shift in strategy this is usually how it begins in a grey area between convenience and slowly we will continue to be drip fed these convenience upgrades until they've normalized it and eventually there's that much of it the game will become pay for convenience in order to win which isn't very different to pay to win models.

[Condasoft]

Like I love my gobbler don't get me wrong the buffs are great but i keep asking myself what's around the corner like this gradual introduction can blur the lines between convenience and necessity, leading to a situation where paying for these upgrades becomes almost essential to keep up with the pace of change or to be efficient and have an optimized experience It’s a slippery slope that can eventually turn the game into a pay-to-win model, which is concerning for many players who value a fair and balanced gaming experience, like what does the future have install for us?

[SinisterSlay]

Are you talking about the copper salvage-o-matic? That thing is ancient. You missed the boat like 9 years ago.
It's also one of the best items to get, but still not required. You can just craft mystic salvage kits and get 250 kits in a single slot fairly easily. I still keep one kit of those around so I can salvage rares with a better return rate. And copper for everything lessor than rare.

[Dr. Electrocutioner]

I don't understand what your complaint is.

I have played for hundreds of hours while completely ignoring the gem store.

It seems like mostly cosmetics and a few convenience items.

Edit:
Also there is no pay to win since it is impossible to win.

[Hefutoxin]

Originally posted by Zeta:

ArenaNet, if you’re listening, remember that player goodwill is finite. When the fun starts to feel gated by the gem store, when people feel more exploited than entertained, it's a slippery slope toward player exodus. A game is only as strong as its community, and if things keep getting worse, even the most loyal players will eventually find something better to do.

I get it you have publishers to please, but the core reason people played guild wars 1 was because it offered something different to subscription services like WoW.

I look at the gemstore and I see stupid items in there like the candy corn gobbler, salvage omatic, unbreakable tools, I am concerned the direction this company is going in, these items are added under the guise of being a convenience and being an item sink but really they are items which not owning them ignites that feeling of missing out.

And whilst it's true that anyone could convert gold to gems the fact is most players are not very good at earning gold and most players don't login everyday for their dailies and such I just feel like the gem store is a bit unfair to the casual players that don't study things like event timers and meta trains which really does make guild wars 2 Pay To Win or pay for convenience however you would like to describe it.

*Sighs because he knows fanboys will defend these practices*

This is a common complaint in most online games today. Why is it a common complaint though? It's because most online games now have microtransactions of this nature. They have them because they are popular and make money.

It's really not that "fanboys will defend these practices". It's that many people have mixed up their personal issues with business issues. The problem with the game isn't X. YOUR personal problem revolves around X and you believe that everyone else has the same personal problem.

I am normal. I don't have "Fear of Missing Out." I don't have "Gambling Addiction". I am not a "Whale". I don't need more inventory space because I am not a hoarder. These are not issues that need to be addressed by gaming companies - these are issues that need to be addressed by personal psychiatrists.

[Dr. Electrocutioner]

The premise of the original post that Anet plans to increase the gem store inventory to a point where the microtransactions become essentially mandatory is not supported by the available evidence.

The way to do that is to make meaningful functionality difficult to get in game but purchasable through microtransactions (looking at you Warframe).

In fact meaningful functionality has been getting easier to acquire. The Skyscale, Warclaw, and Turtle mounts have been made easier to get and the Wizard's Vault has made it easier to get gold, Ascended and Legendary gear, and cosmetics.

The increased gold availability also makes it easier to get gemstore items without spending real money.

You do need to purchase expansions for access to some of that but this is their business model and can't really be called a microtransaction.

[SinisterSlay]

Originally posted by Dr. Electrocutioner:

The increased gold availability also makes it easier to get gemstore items without spending real money.

I wish that were true but supply and demand says otherwise. And gem prices have been steadily increasing with each new gold source. SoTO boosted gem prices to now regularly be between 160 and 180 gold.
https://gw2efficiency.com/currencies/gems
Just set this to like 2016 to now and you can see prices keep increasing. With a huge jump.

The facts are, whales stopped buying gems. And gems cost too much real money for non whales. So the conversion rate is getting worse. And whales don't need to buy gold so much anymore because gold has gotten easier to acquire, making the problem worse.

[Rabbit]

It's funny how people cry about P2W in F2P MMO's but here it is completly ok while you have to pay for the game.

[wiggy]

a single other player on your screen with some gemstore skins can drop your fps from 165 into the 60-80 range btw