I was able to use the speed boost from the mystic chest. Though, I had a signet on that boosted speed by the same amount. I did not notice a drop in speed when the mystic chest boost ran out. That either means they don't stack, or that the mystic buff wasn't working in WvW
Would love if that'd be so. If the boosts are PVE-only, or do not stack with same guild buffs in WvWvW, i'd be perfectly fine with such system.
In PVE, you cannot P2W. If you want easier or faster game - in SP games you just chose it from the drop down list or drag a slider, well here in MP games they ask you to pay for that - no problem at all. Its your personal experience. There is no WIN in PVE.
In PVP, if you wanna be a solo dude - sure, pay a little and stay on the level of another player who took time to find a good guild for himself and get those boosts for free.
No, first of all I don´t think is P2W, nothing like that. In overal terms I like the CS as it is, my only 2 concerns about this are: First there is no bulk buy and second is a bit expensive for European players (at least for must of us).
First: I intended to buy some gems, but wanted some discount for buying in quantity (wich I don´t understand this moves from Anet, unless they become greedy), with no discount at all, I will buy none or just 800 gems if I eventualy needed them. I was planing to spent 20/30 euros on gems for a nice quantity (for char slots, bank and some fluff items) if I was able to keep some spare gems for myself in case I need them for long term, now ... not anymore.
Second: The price are just unfair and seems a bit high for Europe in general, if they drop the prices a bit and make a discount for bulk buy, they will certanly have my money. Otherwise I just have to pass it for now, and if I need to buy some gems, I will do so with with the lowest price (since there are no discount for quantity).
From the perspective of buying gems from game money, or I am mistaken or the price will touch the stars. Why the hell I will trade real money for in game money. There are allways new stuff they will put on gem stores and besides that, everyone will just keep their gems for tramsmutation stones or other stuff that are usefull in long term.
Well guys, I admit I am a fanboy but there are limits to greedy. Change the gem store prices and you will see thousands of people buying them, then, maybe you will see some real economic on gems trade price, and that my friends, will benefict us all (including Anet).
Change prices and bulk buy for all and I for sure will buy gems in quantity. Till then I won´t touch the gem store.
I was not obviously considering XP boosts since thats not giving an advantage. I'm asking about armor, regen etc buffs that do give advantage. Do they work or not in WvWvW?
There is no armor/regen/damage boost in the Cash Shop
Quite so.
There are no stat boosts for sale in the Cash Shop !
They are in the Mystic Chests (which drop ingame).
And Mystic Chests are not in the Cash Shop !
But the Mystic Chests require keys to unlock them.
Mystic Chest Keys are definitely in the Cash Shop (BUT also drop ingame).
But Keys are not bought for real money, you pay in Gems.
But Gems can be bought with ingame Gold ! (OR for real $) (BUT also drop ingame).
Gold can be bought with Gems ! (BUT also drops ingame).
Anet really do deserve credit for hiding the mechanics so well. It's layer upon layer of abstraction, but once you peel them all away, the cold hard metal of the money scoop gleams brightly in the sunlight... and Anet can make that scoop bigger or smaller at will, simply by tweaking drop rates.
Now if anyone really believes that keys and chests will drop with a 1:1 ratio after the game launches (and will never change), then I have some prime real estate in Florida going real cheap.
And the real beauty of the system is that the Mystic Chest content is random, so if you want lots of stat boost potions, you'll need to unlock quite a few to get the specific boost you want.
Some say you can get 10% Strength boosts via your Guild, so the boost from the Mystic Chest potions are meaningless. True, unless they stack, of course. Because if they stack, a guilded player (using a boost) will have 20% more Strength than an unguilded player using no boost. That's significant.
It has nothing to do with the game itself. While it's not everything that I expected based on what the developers have talked about, it is certainly worth the box price.
however, i would be kinda bummed if i can only do transmutations by buying gems. do transmutations ever "drop" in the world?
My definition of PtW? I played Dungeon Runners for a little while, until it became apparent that you had to pay x$ just to open gates within the game to gain content, pay x$ to access drops that you had in your backpack, could buy armor/weapons/jewelry that was more powerful than anything you could get in game, etc. etc.
Aren't the mystic keys the same thing?
Nope. Mystic keys are drops and quest rewards. You can also purchase a butler in the game that will open your chests for you. Do not see a relationship here.
In PtP/PtW games the drops were awesome swords of ubergoodness. You could look at them, check their stats, etc. but you could not use them unless you used a gidget to unlock them. The gidget was a dollar or so.
Stuff like this is always just part of the hype train. Its true though. A game doesnt need a subscription to survive. All it needs is a solid fanbase and a cash shop. In a couple games cases all it needs is a solid fanbase, a subscription, and a cash shop. IMO one or the other isnt bad. Both is insulting.
Stuff like this is always just part of the hype train. Its true though. A game doesnt need a subscription to survive. All it needs is a solid fanbase and a cash shop. In a couple games cases all it needs is a solid fanbase, a subscription, and a cash shop. IMO one or the other isnt bad. Both is insulting.
nowadays, many corporate sub games do have both - including the big names like WOW
SWTOR doesnt have a cash shop yet but i assume EA will add a cosmetic store in future
I thank you very much for attention, and for defending the "cash shop is fine" point, but question is if they sell the boosts that work in PVP or not. It doesnt matter if those boosts drop from PVE or PVP as well - obviously if they sell it, they will make it so you cannot get enough through other means. Same with chests - yes, keys drop, but chests will drop more frequently than keys, otherwise nobody would buy keys.
So my question still remains, and i think noone has exact information on that (and Anet didnt make official statement). Either it works in WvWvW or not, and if it does, either it stacks or not...
I was not obviously considering XP boosts since thats not giving an advantage. I'm asking about armor, regen etc buffs that do give advantage. Do they work or not in WvWvW?
There is no armor/regen/damage boost in the Cash Shop
Quite so.
There are no stat boosts for sale in the Cash Shop !
They are in the Mystic Chests (which drop ingame).
And Mystic Chests are not in the Cash Shop !
But the Mystic Chests require keys to unlock them.
Mystic Chest Keys are definitely in the Cash Shop (BUT also drop ingame).
But Keys are not bought for real money, you pay in Gems.
But Gems can be bought with ingame Gold ! (OR for real $) (BUT also drop ingame).
Gold can be bought with Gems ! (BUT also drops ingame).
Anet really do deserve credit for hiding the mechanics so well. It's layer upon layer of abstraction, but once you peel them all away, the cold hard metal of the money scoop gleams brightly in the sunlight... and Anet can make that scoop bigger or smaller at will, simply by tweaking drop rates.
/snip
This technically means "P2W"
Like I said, it is something I never would have expected ANet to do. I still remember the 'We won't sell power' interview.
I think it is not large enough for a lot of people to not buy but factually it is 'P2W'.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
I was not obviously considering XP boosts since thats not giving an advantage. I'm asking about armor, regen etc buffs that do give advantage. Do they work or not in WvWvW?
There is no armor/regen/damage boost in the Cash Shop
Quite so.
There are no stat boosts for sale in the Cash Shop !
They are in the Mystic Chests (which drop ingame).
And Mystic Chests are not in the Cash Shop !
But the Mystic Chests require keys to unlock them.
Mystic Chest Keys are definitely in the Cash Shop (BUT also drop ingame).
But Keys are not bought for real money, you pay in Gems.
But Gems can be bought with ingame Gold ! (OR for real $) (BUT also drop ingame).
Gold can be bought with Gems ! (BUT also drops ingame).
Anet really do deserve credit for hiding the mechanics so well. It's layer upon layer of abstraction, but once you peel them all away, the cold hard metal of the money scoop gleams brightly in the sunlight... and Anet can make that scoop bigger or smaller at will, simply by tweaking drop rates.
/snip
This technically means "P2W"
Like I said, it is something I never would have expected ANet to do. I still remember the 'We won't sell power' interview.
I think it is not large enough for a lot of people to not buy but factually it is 'P2W'.
I like this response because it makes me wonder about Anet and what's going on. Let's face it from GW1 to GW2 the economics of the game has changed dramatically and Anet is trying to figure out what is going to work best. Make no mistake about it with every major patch will bring major changes to the mechanics of gems+gold+items for a better outcome.
To the original poster...stop being so melodramatic and just play the game. So Anets cash shop has evolved but will it take over the game??? hell no I don't plan on purchasing anything on there I never spent any money in GW1 cash shop and I don't plan on spending any money on this one either in 3 days of beta playing this weekend I made plenty gold crafting and such and I don't want to reveal how I made so much money but people that know how to make money in Guild Wars will have no problem with the cash shop I can assure you that. I don't even know why you mention shareholders...SHareholders???? really why are you stepping 3 steps into ANet's financial infrastructure does it bother you how they are making money??? Ofcourse they are making money otherwise we 'wouldn't have games like Guild Wars after all they have spent 5 years developoing this game. DO you knwo how much money it takes to build a game in 5 years and to pay the 200 people involved in making this game?
Some of you need to really just step back, play the game and help Anet figure all this out...it's a complex game mechanic...
if they would not put some of these things in the cash shop people would still complain, and if you dont like the cash shop dont
buy anything in there. A player at level 80 will have not one single advantage over another level 80 player because of the cash shop.
Like I said, it is something I never would have expected ANet to do. I still remember the 'We won't sell power' interview.
I think it is not large enough for a lot of people to not buy but factually it is 'P2W'.
What's especially nice is how, over time, they went from "only cosmetic items in the cash shop" to "only cosmetic and convenience items in the cash shop" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage over those that spend time".
Originally posted by jpnzThis technically means "P2W"Like I said, it is something I never would have expected ANet to do. I still remember the 'We won't sell power' interview.I think it is not large enough for a lot of people to not buy but factually it is 'P2W'.
What's especially nice is how, over time, they went from "only cosmetic items in the cash shop" to "only cosmetic and convenience items in the cash shop" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage over those that spend time".
there is no serious advantage given to a player by an xp boost. do you consider grinding through content faster an advantage? then this game is not for you. do you consider, when playing with other people in pve, one person possibly having access to a few more skills an advantage? then this game isn't for you if you can't work together with them. and as for pvp, you're leveled to 80, so skill is reLly the deciding factor, and you can't buy skill.
Like I said, it is something I never would have expected ANet to do. I still remember the 'We won't sell power' interview.
I think it is not large enough for a lot of people to not buy but factually it is 'P2W'.
What's especially nice is how, over time, they went from "only cosmetic items in the cash shop" to "only cosmetic and convenience items in the cash shop" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage over those that spend time".
Companies are allowed to change their minds just like all of us. :P
ANet is going to maximise their profits which is fine.
I hoped they would be the 'shining light' but meh.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
What's especially nice is how, over time, they went from "only cosmetic items in the cash shop" to "only cosmetic and convenience items in the cash shop" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage over those that spend time".
rather than making accusations on ANETs "changing" stances
heres some sources
stated October 2010, when microtransactions were first announced
Lead Game Designer Eric Flannum, while discussing the upcoming dungeon system in a recent interview with PC Gamer, revealed that Guild Wars 2 may be supported, in part, by microtransaction sales.
ArenaNet has already revealed that they’ll be selling Transmutation Stones, one-time consumable items used to customize your gear, in their cash shop. And although they won’t confirm if traditional cash shop items like XP boosts and fast travel consumables will also be sold, Flannum’s responses certainly makes it sound like there will be–if there’s demand for it from the playerbase.
Our microtransaction content isn’t nailed down yet, but we have a good framework in place to support it. So, I’d like to take a moment to explain our goals and the system we have developed to meet them.
Here’s our philosophy on microtransactions: We think players should have the opportunity to spend money on items that provide visual distinction and offer more ways to express themselves. They should also be able to spend money on account services and on time-saving convenience items. But it’s never OK for players to buy a game and not be able to enjoy what they paid for without additional purchases, and it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who spend time.
Caliburn101 can you confirm that boosts from mystic chests do not work in WvWvW?
Can anyone confirm that?
Can anyone also confirm that they do not stack with similar ones from guild perks?
I would like to see this confirmation as well.
Boosts works in WvWvW.
Not sure on the stacking though.
Well this changes a lot for me. I've had the stance of GW2 is not p2w, but you can pay for bonuses that are not combat, or power related. I was wrong. You can flat out pay cash for combat power.
I've always said that I will pick GW2 up at some point, but after reading this on top of the cash for gold conversion system, at the moment, this is just too much for me.
I don't want to ask myself everytime I die to a guy with 1% XP left, "Was he using a strength bonus?"
at the end of the day they need constant cash coming in to run and develop a MMORPG.. so there will be things in the cash shop that you might not NEED to play the game but most people WILL buy them because its makes the game easier to play in some way.. not saying items in the shop will give an unfair advantage or somthing.. but they cant just have fluff items right as most people wont bother buying fluff.. So they need items in the shop that people WILL want and WILL spend money on.. sure you have a choice but i bet the majority of people will end up spending in the cash shop.
Its just a different way of bringing the cash in..
It has nothing to do with the game itself. While it's not everything that I expected based on what the developers have talked about, it is certainly worth the box price. I have already purchased my copy and look forward to playing in about a month.
What is bothering me is the cash shop, or Gem Store as it's called. The developers have been heavily playing on the whole "MMORPGs don't need a subscription fee and we're awesome because we don't have one!". Of course, it's been implied that all of the other MMORPGs with sub fees are greedy because it's not needed. Supposedly box sales alone are adequate. That changed to supplemented by a cosmetic and convenience cash shop. Alright, I can accept that. A few dollars here and there from people that appreciate the game. That's totally fair.
This past weekend the actual gem pricing and cash shop item pricing was revealed. It was significantly higher than many people were expecting as far as actual value per gem. The number of gems per $ is largely irrelevant, it's more what those gems can actually buy that creates the 'value' of the gems. This cash shop is designed to pull more money from the average player in a shorter time frame than a subscription could ever hope to accomplish. It's appalling greedy but extremely clever at the same time.
Here's why it's clever. They have successfully dissociated gold and gems from real money when they are all very much connected. There are TONS of people that don't understand that gem prices (in gold) are determined by the amount of gems that are being sold by people that have purchased them for real money. These people that say, "Well, you never even have to spend money on gems, I can just buy them with gold I get from playing.", really don't understand. First off, the cost of gems is going to skyrocket. How much gold do you think you're going to have to farm for me to give you $10 (or 800 gems)? Yeah, a whole lot. Second, if you purchase gems with gold, you are buying gems that someone purchased. Those gems are not being created for you, they were created for the person that paid real money for them. You are essentially driving gem sales by selling your time for gems, which were bought with real money. Now, there will be people that never use the cash shop and never purchase gems with gold or real money. However, if they ever purchase a dye or mini on the Trading Post, they just indirectly supported the Gem Store. It's quite likely that the dye or mini was purchased for gems.
Now lets get into the greedy part. They have a "magic black box" that the gems and gold go into for conversions. I put 800 gems in this magic black box and it gives me some amount of gold. I put 20 gold in this magic black box and it gives me some amount of gems. I would expect that gems were never taxed in this conversion, but I really have no way of knowing. I assume that market forces are driving the price change with some algorithm that is crafted well enough that it derives accurate prices from market pressure. I also expect that the market isn't being manipulated in which ever direction it needs to be to drive additional gem sales. Do I know any of this to be true? No, it all happens inside a "magic black box" that I can't see into.
I can't believe how many people have purchased gems during the last beta weekend. The game doesn't even come out for another month and I read about people spending hundreds of dollars on gems. That's a whole lot of months of subs that have been sold before the game even released for a non-subscription game. Now, yes, I know those are not actual subs, but I can assure you that the numbers make a sub game jealous. Subscription games include 30 days of free gametime, meaning they don't collect anything beyond the box price during the first month.
Now I have nothing against people being compensated for thier work. The developers should definitely be rewarded for creating a game that's definitely cooler than most that have come out in years. However, here's the real kicker. ArenaNet is owned by NCSoft. NCSoft is a publicly traded company. This means that people that are getting compensated for the developers work are the shareholders, not the developers. People that contributed nothing to the creative development of the game are the ones that are collecting the money you spend in the Gem Store. Buying gems does not support ArenaNet directly, it lines the pockets of investors. In that aspect, ArenaNet is no less greedy than Blizzard or Nexon. That last sentence does make me a bit sad, as I had really hoped for better from ArenaNet. All of the developer videos and comments over the years seemed to paint a different picture.
Oh well. I can play the game without purchasing gems. There are slight annoyances, such as not having access to the "full game" without deleting progress or purchasing additional character slots*. The locked bag slots I see every time I open my inventory. The constant Mystic Chest drops. Only the first is annoying, but I suppose I can select three classes I don't want to play. This got to be kind of long. Please feel free to share your thoughts.
* 5 character slots allows for all races, but not all class created simultaneously. It could go either way in whether or not one has "full access" to the game with the box. Both sides have merit.
TL;DR - Read it, it's interesting. If you can't be bothered, please don't bother to reply either. Thanks
You want more character slots + invo space + bank space ?... spend $60 and buy another account.
I believe tailors can craft pretty decent sized invo bags which should more than make up for not having enough space.
ArenaNet is refunding all gems bought in BWE to players at release.
Comments
I was able to use the speed boost from the mystic chest. Though, I had a signet on that boosted speed by the same amount. I did not notice a drop in speed when the mystic chest boost ran out. That either means they don't stack, or that the mystic buff wasn't working in WvW
Would love if that'd be so. If the boosts are PVE-only, or do not stack with same guild buffs in WvWvW, i'd be perfectly fine with such system.
In PVE, you cannot P2W. If you want easier or faster game - in SP games you just chose it from the drop down list or drag a slider, well here in MP games they ask you to pay for that - no problem at all. Its your personal experience. There is no WIN in PVE.
In PVP, if you wanna be a solo dude - sure, pay a little and stay on the level of another player who took time to find a good guild for himself and get those boosts for free.
No, first of all I don´t think is P2W, nothing like that. In overal terms I like the CS as it is, my only 2 concerns about this are: First there is no bulk buy and second is a bit expensive for European players (at least for must of us).
First: I intended to buy some gems, but wanted some discount for buying in quantity (wich I don´t understand this moves from Anet, unless they become greedy), with no discount at all, I will buy none or just 800 gems if I eventualy needed them. I was planing to spent 20/30 euros on gems for a nice quantity (for char slots, bank and some fluff items) if I was able to keep some spare gems for myself in case I need them for long term, now ... not anymore.
Second: The price are just unfair and seems a bit high for Europe in general, if they drop the prices a bit and make a discount for bulk buy, they will certanly have my money. Otherwise I just have to pass it for now, and if I need to buy some gems, I will do so with with the lowest price (since there are no discount for quantity).
From the perspective of buying gems from game money, or I am mistaken or the price will touch the stars. Why the hell I will trade real money for in game money. There are allways new stuff they will put on gem stores and besides that, everyone will just keep their gems for tramsmutation stones or other stuff that are usefull in long term.
Well guys, I admit I am a fanboy but there are limits to greedy. Change the gem store prices and you will see thousands of people buying them, then, maybe you will see some real economic on gems trade price, and that my friends, will benefict us all (including Anet).
Change prices and bulk buy for all and I for sure will buy gems in quantity. Till then I won´t touch the gem store.
Sorry Anet, a bit disapointed from you.
Quite so.
There are no stat boosts for sale in the Cash Shop !
They are in the Mystic Chests (which drop ingame).
And Mystic Chests are not in the Cash Shop !
But the Mystic Chests require keys to unlock them.
Mystic Chest Keys are definitely in the Cash Shop (BUT also drop ingame).
But Keys are not bought for real money, you pay in Gems.
But Gems can be bought with ingame Gold ! (OR for real $) (BUT also drop ingame).
Gold can be bought with Gems ! (BUT also drops ingame).
Anet really do deserve credit for hiding the mechanics so well. It's layer upon layer of abstraction, but once you peel them all away, the cold hard metal of the money scoop gleams brightly in the sunlight... and Anet can make that scoop bigger or smaller at will, simply by tweaking drop rates.
Now if anyone really believes that keys and chests will drop with a 1:1 ratio after the game launches (and will never change), then I have some prime real estate in Florida going real cheap.
And the real beauty of the system is that the Mystic Chest content is random, so if you want lots of stat boost potions, you'll need to unlock quite a few to get the specific boost you want.
Some say you can get 10% Strength boosts via your Guild, so the boost from the Mystic Chest potions are meaningless. True, unless they stack, of course. Because if they stack, a guilded player (using a boost) will have 20% more Strength than an unguilded player using no boost. That's significant.
there are no chests being sold on the gem store
just as you say "chests drop everywhere", could make the same claim for keys
can get keys from Quests, Drops in game, mystic chests
the items you get from chests are random - you may not get any meaningful boost at all
EQ2 fan sites
Fifteen bucks to unlock the last three bag slots on a character. That would be a month's sub on a traditional sub game.
Nothing else in the cash shop worth buying.
I can live with that.
Nope. Mystic keys are drops and quest rewards. You can also purchase a butler in the game that will open your chests for you. Do not see a relationship here.
In PtP/PtW games the drops were awesome swords of ubergoodness. You could look at them, check their stats, etc. but you could not use them unless you used a gidget to unlock them. The gidget was a dollar or so.
Stuff like this is always just part of the hype train. Its true though. A game doesnt need a subscription to survive. All it needs is a solid fanbase and a cash shop. In a couple games cases all it needs is a solid fanbase, a subscription, and a cash shop. IMO one or the other isnt bad. Both is insulting.
nowadays, many corporate sub games do have both - including the big names like WOW
SWTOR doesnt have a cash shop yet but i assume EA will add a cosmetic store in future
as they did for their sub game of Ultima Online
http://store.origin.com/store/ea/search/?keywords=UO
EQ2 fan sites
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx7o7CRoDXc
How the GW2 economy actually/currently works...very interesting demonstration...
I thank you very much for attention, and for defending the "cash shop is fine" point, but question is if they sell the boosts that work in PVP or not. It doesnt matter if those boosts drop from PVE or PVP as well - obviously if they sell it, they will make it so you cannot get enough through other means. Same with chests - yes, keys drop, but chests will drop more frequently than keys, otherwise nobody would buy keys.
So my question still remains, and i think noone has exact information on that (and Anet didnt make official statement). Either it works in WvWvW or not, and if it does, either it stacks or not...
This technically means "P2W"
Like I said, it is something I never would have expected ANet to do. I still remember the 'We won't sell power' interview.
I think it is not large enough for a lot of people to not buy but factually it is 'P2W'.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
I would like to see this confirmation as well.
Boosts works in WvWvW.
Not sure on the stacking though.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
thats pure speculation
EQ2 fan sites
I like this response because it makes me wonder about Anet and what's going on. Let's face it from GW1 to GW2 the economics of the game has changed dramatically and Anet is trying to figure out what is going to work best. Make no mistake about it with every major patch will bring major changes to the mechanics of gems+gold+items for a better outcome.
To the original poster...stop being so melodramatic and just play the game. So Anets cash shop has evolved but will it take over the game??? hell no I don't plan on purchasing anything on there I never spent any money in GW1 cash shop and I don't plan on spending any money on this one either in 3 days of beta playing this weekend I made plenty gold crafting and such and I don't want to reveal how I made so much money but people that know how to make money in Guild Wars will have no problem with the cash shop I can assure you that. I don't even know why you mention shareholders...SHareholders???? really why are you stepping 3 steps into ANet's financial infrastructure does it bother you how they are making money??? Ofcourse they are making money otherwise we 'wouldn't have games like Guild Wars after all they have spent 5 years developoing this game. DO you knwo how much money it takes to build a game in 5 years and to pay the 200 people involved in making this game?
Some of you need to really just step back, play the game and help Anet figure all this out...it's a complex game mechanic...
if they would not put some of these things in the cash shop people would still complain, and if you dont like the cash shop dont
buy anything in there. A player at level 80 will have not one single advantage over another level 80 player because of the cash shop.
What's especially nice is how, over time, they went from "only cosmetic items in the cash shop" to "only cosmetic and convenience items in the cash shop" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage over those that spend time".
What's especially nice is how, over time, they went from "only cosmetic items in the cash shop" to "only cosmetic and convenience items in the cash shop" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage" to "we won't sell anything in the cash shop that gives paying players an advantage over those that spend time".
there is no serious advantage given to a player by an xp boost. do you consider grinding through content faster an advantage? then this game is not for you. do you consider, when playing with other people in pve, one person possibly having access to a few more skills an advantage? then this game isn't for you if you can't work together with them. and as for pvp, you're leveled to 80, so skill is reLly the deciding factor, and you can't buy skill.Companies are allowed to change their minds just like all of us. :P
ANet is going to maximise their profits which is fine.
I hoped they would be the 'shining light' but meh.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
rather than making accusations on ANETs "changing" stances
heres some sources
stated October 2010, when microtransactions were first announced
http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/10/21/guild-wars-2-to-have-dlc-microtransactions/
Lead Game Designer Eric Flannum, while discussing the upcoming dungeon system in a recent interview with PC Gamer, revealed that Guild Wars 2 may be supported, in part, by microtransaction sales.
ArenaNet has already revealed that they’ll be selling Transmutation Stones, one-time consumable items used to customize your gear, in their cash shop. And although they won’t confirm if traditional cash shop items like XP boosts and fast travel consumables will also be sold, Flannum’s responses certainly makes it sound like there will be–if there’s demand for it from the playerbase.
said in March 2012
http://www.arena.net/blog/mike-obrien-on-microtransactions-in-guild-wars-2
Our microtransaction content isn’t nailed down yet, but we have a good framework in place to support it. So, I’d like to take a moment to explain our goals and the system we have developed to meet them.
Here’s our philosophy on microtransactions: We think players should have the opportunity to spend money on items that provide visual distinction and offer more ways to express themselves. They should also be able to spend money on account services and on time-saving convenience items. But it’s never OK for players to buy a game and not be able to enjoy what they paid for without additional purchases, and it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who spend time.
EQ2 fan sites
I have seen many cash shops and can say with confidence as it stands now that anets is by far one of the least intrusive CS i have ever seen...
I will be buying gems for bag slots and character slots but have no need for speed and exp potions as im in no hurry here..
Playing GW2..
Well this changes a lot for me. I've had the stance of GW2 is not p2w, but you can pay for bonuses that are not combat, or power related. I was wrong. You can flat out pay cash for combat power.
I've always said that I will pick GW2 up at some point, but after reading this on top of the cash for gold conversion system, at the moment, this is just too much for me.
I don't want to ask myself everytime I die to a guy with 1% XP left, "Was he using a strength bonus?"
at the end of the day they need constant cash coming in to run and develop a MMORPG.. so there will be things in the cash shop that you might not NEED to play the game but most people WILL buy them because its makes the game easier to play in some way.. not saying items in the shop will give an unfair advantage or somthing.. but they cant just have fluff items right as most people wont bother buying fluff.. So they need items in the shop that people WILL want and WILL spend money on.. sure you have a choice but i bet the majority of people will end up spending in the cash shop.
Its just a different way of bringing the cash in..
You want more character slots + invo space + bank space ?... spend $60 and buy another account.
I believe tailors can craft pretty decent sized invo bags which should more than make up for not having enough space.
ArenaNet is refunding all gems bought in BWE to players at release.