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[RepairmanJack]

Holy shit I missed a lot.

Most of the stuff in the cash shop don't bother me at all. I think people are over reacting about the res orb. I think it will be nothing more than saving you from spawning at a waypoint essentially just a time saver. Even if it isn't disable in dungeons(which I think it wil be) I don't think it would be a big issue as the videos from the first beta made it seem the spawn points were pretty close.

The megaphone needs to go way up in price or go the hell away. At less than a dollar chat will be completely spammed. Make them something high in price and make the idiots pay for their two seconds of idiocy.

The mystic keys I think will be good IF you can also get keys in game somehow. It isn't enough that you can get them with gold, if you can get chests in game you should be able to get the keys in game even if it's rare or takes a lot of time. I really think(hope) that they will just take a lot of time or are really rare to get in game so that buying them, again, is just another time saver.

Bags and bag slots kind of concern me. But only mildly, I can't see them doing something so dumb as making this the only way of getting them.

But if I want to buy gems I can't, it's a complete scumbag move and people need to start calling companies out on it.

Usually I completely agree, but I think in this case it is needed. Since you can exchange gold for gems it is needed to have something in place of cash. If they had just gold in exchange for cash it would be a bigger problem.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Drawing the Asura by an ArenaNet concept artist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO0WQQDXf3Q&list=PL14CD6D148AC7281D&index=5&feature=plpp_video

Didn't see this one up yet.

Paying $60 for F2P Game Yep, guildwars2guru going apeshit.

holy shit, lol.

People are extremely predictable. I've been saying this shit forever. Guild Wars fans are no less moronic than in other MMOs.

You want a real MMO. you dont want to pay monthly, and basically you want to get everything for free.

It's like their brains can't comprehend that every positive will always offset negatives. It's like that with anything in life. Bunch of idiots.



The only thing they ever said was no pay2win. that was the only promise.. That has always been the mission.


GW1 had skill unlocks and that was basically (for years) the hardest to achieve. So you could pay yourself to get the stuff others would have to work hundreds of hours for. It didnt matter. It wont matter. And yet these clowns act like it's new or unexpected.

 

[Spazznid]

I can't believe how bad the community in GW2Guru has gotten since I used to post there...

Arenanet's decision to make their own forums: Justified

Just hope they moderate the hell out of it. BF3's forums are a crapfest of haters and trolls.

About the cash shop, however...

I FREAKING love it!
I could do without the Res stone and the Megaphone (or at least make the megaphone expensive) but so far being able to buy character slots and Bank slots with in-game currency?! YES!

I'm also curious as to the difference between the types of Transmutation stones....

Remember, for those that aren't reading each and every detail,

You DON'T have to use real money to buy any of this stuff! You can use in-game Gold, and convert it to Gems, which you may use to buy these items. This means that the system is most definitely NOT like F2P cash shops. You never have to spend a dime

I can always count on Arenanet to solve complicated problems with simple solutions. So far, everything they've done has been a "Why hasn't it always been this way" kind of move.

And remember, this is a beta, I'm sure they will adjust pricing and availability accordingly.

 

[BrettWeir]

How are these images being taken? I thought the beta didn't start until tomorrow?

I'm fine with all of the items. Good point about the Res stone and broken armor. I wonder if they will be stack-able or if each one will fill an inventory slot. I hope they don't stack.

Being that loot isn't like other MMO's, the keys really don't bother me. Completely makes me think of this:

Howard Wolowitz: Here we are gentlemen, the Gates Of Elzebub.
Sheldon: Good lord!
Leonard: Don't panic, this is what the last 97 hours have been about.
Howard Wolowitz: Stay frosty. There's a horde of armed goblins on the other side of that gate guarding the Sword Of Azeroth.
Leonard: Warriors, unsheathe your weapons. Magic wielders, raise your wands.
Sheldon: Lock and load.
Howard Wolowitz: Raj, blow the gates.
Raj Koothrappali: Blowing the gates. [pressing keys]
Raj Koothrappali: Control, shift, B. [sound of the gates blowing]
Raj Koothrappali: Oh my God, so many goblins!
Howard Wolowitz: Don't just stand there, slash and move! Slash and move!
Leonard: Stay in formation!
Howard Wolowitz: Leonard, you've got one on your tail!
Leonard: That's all right, my tail's prehensile, I'll swat him off!
Raj Koothrappali: I got him Leonard. Tonight, I spice my meat with goblin blood!
Leonard: Raj, no, it's a trap! Thay're flanking us!
Raj Koothrappali: [in a wimpy tone] Oh, he's got me.
Howard Wolowitz: Sheldon, he's got Raj, use your sleep spell! Sheldon! [changes to an annoyed whisper]
Howard Wolowitz: Sheldon!
Sheldon: I've got the Sword Of Azeroth!
Leonard: Forget the sword Sheldon, help Raj.
Sheldon: There is no more Sheldon! I am the sword master!
Howard Wolowitz: Leonard look out!
Leonard: Damn it man, we're dying here!
Sheldon: Goodbye peasents.
Leonard: The bastard teleported.
Raj Koothrappali: [looks at Sheldon's screen] He's selling the sword of Azeroth on eBay.
Leonard: You betrayed us for money? Who are you?

Howard Wolowitz:I am the Sword Master!

 

[Retro]

I'd be okay with the cost of the Megaphone if there was a long duration account-wide cooldown on it, something on the order of one per hour. That way, it could be used to get people into world events or WvW and generally get news out, but not have conversations or shouting matches with it.

 

[GrizzNKev]

Drawing the Asura by an ArenaNet concept artist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO0WQQDXf3Q&list=PL14CD6D148AC7281D&index=5&feature=plpp_video






holy shit, lol.

People are extremely predictable. I've been saying this shit forever. Guild Wars fans are no less moronic than in other MMOs.

You want a real MMO. you dont want to pay monthly, and basically you want to get everything for free.

It's like their brains can't comprehend that every positive will always offset negatives. It's like that with anything in life. Bunch of idiots.



The only thing they ever said was no pay2win. that was the only promise.. That has always been the mission.


GW1 had skill unlocks and that was basically (for years) the hardest to achieve. So you could pay yourself to get the stuff others would have to work hundreds of hours for. It didnt matter. It wont matter. And yet these clowns act like it's new or unexpected.

Wait, are you calling us moronic, or GW2Guru? We predicted, understood, and accepted this. We are all pretty much fine with it and it doesn't really fit pay2win. Guru... well they freak out over everything.

 

[RepairmanJack]

I actually wonder what would make more gold. I think most people would try to put gems on trade for gold, but I think you would maybe be able to get more gold overall if you got items with the gems and were able to trade them for gold. If that's possible.

 

[Gueras]

The game will be on Steam?

 

[GrizzNKev]

I actually wonder what would make more gold. I think most people would try to put gems on trade for gold, but I think you would maybe be able to get more gold overall if you got items with the gems and were able to trade them for gold. If that's possible.

You're saying the amount of gems to buy an item might have a lower perceived value than the item purchased using said gems? I thought of it working the opposite way, and that by spending gems, you're always taking a slight loss. Gems would be more valuable due to their flexibility.

 

[Arken2121]

Geez, work a full day and I miss all the item shop goodies! From all the items you can buy at release, none will affect your game play to give you an edge over someone else. This, in turn, shouldn't affect the economy and the game overall. As a collector, all of those costumes will be mine with the character slots and bags. The megaphone seems a little out of place and could easily turn very annoying. Other than that, looking good.

 

[Ikuu]

Usually I completely agree, but I think in this case it is needed. Since you can exchange gold for gems it is needed to have something in place of cash. If they had just gold in exchange for cash it would be a bigger problem.

If the price of gems is going to remain static then they could allow you to purchase the exact number you need for an item.

 

[RepairmanJack]

You're saying the amount of gems to buy an item might have a lower perceived value than the item purchased using said gems? I thought of it working the opposite way, and that by spending gems, you're always taking a slight loss. Gems would be more valuable due to their flexibility.

Not neccisarily. More thinking that people won't think to try to sell the items and if the market is flooded with gems the trade value of those may be down a bit. Also less of the items on the trade may be able to up the value in gold more than what it would take to buy the gems. I don't think it would work much, but I could see people looking for the item and just wanting to buy it rather than get enough gems with the gold then buying the item they want.

I think gems would still be the cheaper route, I just think if people do it right they may be able to make more gold from selling the items directly if it's possible.

If the price of gems is going to remain static then they could allow you to purchase the exact number you need for an item.

Oh, this I agree with. I think it is dumb when companies do that, I figure they do it for the credit card costs though at least to a certain extent. If people wanted a 10 gem item and those ten gems cost 75 cents it would probably cost ANet more to run the card than they are making. But past a certain dollar amount I would agree. I thought you were talking about having another currency in place of cash in itself.

 

[GasProblem]

Is a credit card the only way you can buy stuff from the cash shop (if you want to buy things with real money that is)? Probably huh.

Guess it's time for me to get one.

 

[RepairmanJack]

Is a credit card the only way you can buy stuff from the cash shop (if you want to buy things with real money that is)? Probably huh.

Guess it's time for me to get one.

I can see them having some kind of cards in stores down the road. Especcially if the game gets big, or off to a good start. I can't see why they wouldn't do this.

 

[Vano]

I can see the worries about the Resurrection stones in PvE (as PvP is restricted in using it). They can add Explorable mode to the restrictions or adding a long cooldown to avoid people of abusing it (lets say 2 hrs?).

The Boosters aren't bad, its only 1 hr, some have low % of increase and could have a cd (and even if they don't isn't like a big advantage).

The megaphone should be a little more expensive, i can see people abusing it but they can add a cooldown to them and fix the problem of spamming it.

The cosmetic stuff is fine and the bag/Key stuff:
As the description of the Loot bag says that is a random item i think we need to wait to have a hands on the item to test what quality of item it drops, i doubt that it drops a <Sword of awesome that i swing> which gives +100 idestroyou because they said they dont want to sell items that gives advantages in the store.
The Key we need to know if it can drop in the world, i'm guessing that it does drop but a low rate or is sold by a big amount of gold.

And the usual: "Omg gw2 guru", its a shame that the few people who are reasonable are overshadowed by the crazies.

 

[SteveWD40]

The game will be on Steam?

Not sure yet but hopefully, as the first one is.

 

[GrizzNKev]

@Rubi_: "I've been loud about this for years: From a purely personal standpoint, I have nothing but disgust for those who leak NDA'd information, and I feel pretty much the same way about those who help spread the information after it's out."

I regret nothing, Rubi. Nothing.

If I was in the beta, I personally would not break the NDA out of respect for game developers and not getting banned from the game. But once it's leaked, it's leaked. I can tell people if I want to.

 

[razgriz417]

Wow nice collection of news to wake up to. So if I'm reading this correctly,

a character slot = $10
12 slot bag = $3.75
Bag Slot = $4
Bank Tab = $7.5

not bad imo, I'll definitely buy a few character slots using gems. though now I'm curious as to how many bags we can acquire normally (12 slots seems on the low side for a loot whore like me )

Only thing I'm wary about is the mystic keys and chests, don't really like that system.

 

[darkwing]

looks like I'm going to buy some gems on Day 1

 

[Retro]

Oh man that's an even better deal than what I'm asking for.

As the description of the Loot bag says that is a random item i think we need to wait to have a hands on the item to test what quality of item it drops, i doubt that it drops a <Sword of awesome that i swing> which gives +100 idestroyou because they said they dont want to sell items that gives advantages in the store.

I'm thinking that when you open a loot bag, it probably just pulls an item from the appropriate level loot tables. It would basically be "Hey, give us x gems and we'll pretend you found a chest while you were exploring". So you're sure to get something good, but it's not going to be amazing and luck will still have a lot to do with it.

@Rubi_: "I've been loud about this for years: From a purely personal standpoint, I have nothing but disgust for those who leak NDA'd information, and I feel pretty much the same way about those who help spread the information after it's out."

They have a point though, the information coming out is from 4chan (hardly reliable) and represents a work in progress, which we all know people assume is identical to launch. Numbers are usually the last thing to be tweaked and I would be very surprised if those gem prices are anything more than someone's best guess just so there's some placeholders in there.

We know better, but the random joe blow on the internet? The Average Guru Mouthbreather? They're taking this shit as gospel. And if I were ANet, I'd be furious that someone is disseminating incorrect info, especially when it's leading to all of these moronic "U BetrAYed Me, GW2" comments.

 

[RepairmanJack]

And the usual: "Omg gw2 guru", its a shame that the few people who are reasonable are overshadowed by the crazies.

It's hard to not be overshadowed by the overwhelming majority. There is what 10 threads over there about the gems and all of them are the same stuff over and over. "Pay to win this is stupid." "Cash->gold->influence->power! they are selling power!!!"

Just crazy overdramatization about something we don't even know how it will play out. Gold would have been bought one way or another regardless if ANet did it or not and they are doing it a better way to where no new money is coming into play. The money is from players and from the economy. We have no clue how influence will work on the full game, and boosters seem like they will be very little effect.

 

[GrizzNKev]

.

This is AMAZING. Did you make it? Hope you don't mind if I spread it around a bit.

 

[Retro]

This is AMAZING. Did you make it? Hope you don't mind if I spread it around a bit.

Yeah, I slapped it together in Photoshop for S&G, layer masks make that kinda stuff alarmingly easy. Share it where you like.

Edit: use the new one, I added some condensation to make the drink look a little less flat: http://i.imgur.com/lihnu.jpg
Yes, I do nitpick about little things like that.

 

[GrizzNKev]

We know better, but the random joe blow on the internet? The Average Guru Mouthbreather? They're taking this shit as gospel. And if I were ANet, I'd be furious that someone is disseminating incorrect info, especially when it's leading to all of these moronic "U BetrAYed Me, GW2" comments.

The responsibility falls entirely on the person who leaked it. Once posted, no matter where or when, it's going to spread. The blame can't fall on the people who spread it or reacted to it. That's the risk you take when allowing the public to test your game. Although this may make things a little bit tougher for Anet, it was bound to happen and I am entirely confident they'll sort it out. The last thing the community team should be doing at this point is displaying anger at anyone but the person who leaked the images.

Then again, that was on Rubi's personal twitter and it doesn't reflect the opinions of ArenaNet as a company.

 

[Retro]

The responsibility falls entirely on the person who leaked it. Once posted, no matter where or when, it's going to spread. The blame can't fall on the people who spread it or reacted to it. That's the risk you take when allowing the public to test your game. Although this may make things a little bit tougher for Anet, it was bound to happen and I am entirely confident they'll sort it out. The last thing the community team should be doing at this point is displaying anger at anyone but the person who leaked the images.

Then again, that was on Rubi's personal twitter and it doesn't reflect the opinions of ArenaNet as a company.

I'm not saying the people who spread and are now discussing the matter are in the wrong; the cat is out of the bag at this point and getting angry about it won't change anything. But I'm just saying, I can see where they're coming from and I personally would be pissed.

Since it's a personal twitter account, that's exactly what it sounds like.

Edit: I expect some damage control at some point today, probably an official ANet tweet or facebook update about the incorrect prices, etc.

 

[Keasar]

As long as items in the cash shop doesn't cost too much I am fine. 10 bucks for a character slot is reasonable. Hopefully they include 1 or 2 also with any eventual expansions.

 

[Retro]

As long as items in the cash shop doesn't cost too much I am fine. 10 bucks for a character slot is reasonable. Hopefully they include 1 or 2 also with any eventual expansions.

That would fit the pattern they established with GW1. I can see them not adding free slots if the expansion doesn't add a new profession though.

And while $10 is reasonable, I'm looking forward to bankrolling my alt characters with my main. That such an option even exists is awesome.

That's really the biggest draw for me of the gem system; it isn't just "Give us your monies or you don't get all of these neat things." You can play the game as you normally would and still have access to cash shop items.

That said, I know damn well I'll probably buy gems a couple of times at least.

 

[Artadius]

And Jira, and Retro. And any of the other big players in this thread and other GW2 ones. You know, fan sites got invites. We're a GW2 community and we're going to have a big guild with a potentially large influence. We should count. Let's send a mass email/tweet to Anet.

I'm doing this first and foremost for Jira but if I can include more of us, I will. I'm writing an email to Anet's community team regarding the amount of publicity GAF accumulates for their game thanks to Jira and the most active GW2 posters, and pointing out that fansites far less prominent than GAF were invited to participate in the beta.

I had originally planned to give Jira my invite if I got in and he didn't, but neither of us were invited. That's what all those cryptic posts about checking PMs and whatnot were about. /:

I sent it to community@arena.net and made the subject "Regarding the NeoGAF Community" so they'll actually open and read it.

@Rubi_: "I've been loud about this for years: From a purely personal standpoint, I have nothing but disgust for those who leak NDA'd information, and I feel pretty much the same way about those who help spread the information after it's out."

I regret nothing, Rubi. Nothing.

If I was in the beta, I personally would not break the NDA out of respect for game developers and not getting banned from the game. But once it's leaked, it's leaked. I can tell people if I want to.

The responsibility falls entirely on the person who leaked it. Once posted, no matter where or when, it's going to spread. The blame can't fall on the people who spread it or reacted to it. That's the risk you take when allowing the public to test your game. Although this may make things a little bit tougher for Anet, it was bound to happen and I am entirely confident they'll sort it out. The last thing the community team should be doing at this point is displaying anger at anyone but the person who leaked the images.

Then again, that was on Rubi's personal twitter and it doesn't reflect the opinions of ArenaNet as a company.

It's reasons like the above that NeoGAF wouldn't be considered a community for GuildWars 2 and why they won't consider sending special invitations for folks on this board just for talking about the game. I find it somewhat laughable that you sent an email to them asking for beta access for one or more GAF members based on nothing more than words posted to an internet gaming forum... yet contribute to the spread of NDA'd information.

Sure, you didn't leak it, but you're certainly not earning any ANet brownie points by reposting here on GAF.

There's a whole lot of entitlement, circle-jerking, hyperbole, jealousy, and other negative vibes going on in this thread. I think some of you need to take it down a notch or two. Stones are frequently cast in here at other forums and at other games. It can be a bit petty sometimes.

 

[speedpop]

At the end of the day the store items and prices indicated are not final. They may very well still be there when the game launches, but beta is still beta and changes can and will happen.

What I am more thankful about is that I still do not have to pay a subscription fee. Comparing that to the amount of money I spent on WoW after its release and I wonder whether my account tally will ever reach the same numbers for GW2.

Will I buy gems? The probabilities of that are quite high. Will I spend $300-400 (excluding expansions) over the course of the game's life? Highly doubtful. I'll let other players financially compliment ArenaNet more than I ever wanted to.

 

[theMrCravens]

Bags and bags slots in the shop ?

Bank slots I understand, but aren't bags something that should be free and simple to get like in GW1 ?

 

[Complistic]

Of course I'd prefer if there were no cash shop at all, but I know that's not how the world works so I'm satisfied with what Im seeing. I am very happy that I'll be able to buy gems with in game gold instead of real money. Though I'll still probably throw anet a few bucks here and there. The alternative is a monthly subscription and that makes the game an instant "no" from me.

Bags and bags slots in the shop ?

Bank slots I understand, but aren't bags something that should be free and simple to get like in GW1 ?

You still have what looks like even more inventory space than in GW1, those bags are just things to add on top of that if you want it.

 

[GrizzNKev]

It's reasons like the above that NeoGAF wouldn't be considered a community for GuildWars 2 and why they won't consider sending special invitations for folks on this board just for talking about the game. I find it somewhat laughable that you sent an email to them asking for beta access for one or more GAF members based on nothing more than words posted to an internet gaming forum... yet contribute to the spread of NDA'd information.

Sure, you didn't leak it, but you're certainly not earning any ANet brownie points by reposting here on GAF.

There's a whole lot of entitlement, circle-jerking, hyperbole, jealousy, and other negative vibes going on in this thread. I think some of you need to take it down a notch or two. Stones are frequently cast in here at other forums and at other games. It can be a bit petty sometimes.

Yes, I am absolutely jealous. However, every single other online community that's recognized by ArenaNet and had received at least some kind of invitation to join the beta is guilty of at least this much, or more. And a whole lot of them didn't do anything more than post words on an internet gaming forum.

I see no need to earn Anet brownie points. I can be a fan of the game and criticize it too. I'm not going to break an NDA but anyone else is just as likely to spread a leak as I am. It only happened in this instance because I saw it first. I respect them as developers but they're not perfect and neither are we or anyone else out there.

You say these things like GAF is the perfect shining example, and I alone am the petty one. Yet I did this entirely because I felt Jira's contribution to the overall presence of the game here and elsewhere, to an audience of hundreds of thousands, deserved recognition. You did not read the email I wrote and have absolutely no idea what I said to Anet.

The worst that could happen is they say no, and we wait for the next beta. Nobody's going to die over it. We're not insane fanboys, we're just excited and riding the hype train.

If you do not like it, please exit at the next stop.

 

[birdchili]

[*]12-Slot Bag
I hate starting a new character and not having bags. That's always the first thing I send my alts. I probably won't buy these anyways since, you know, my main will be able to buy that stuff with gold (or craft it). But it's tempting to buy one for my first character right off the bat. Storage doesn't affect gameplay at all though, it just means you make less trips to sell off vendor trash.

storage definitely affects gameplay... this is the exact type of thing that irritates me... it makes playing annoying for folk who don't spend cash. it's not about more time playing a fun game - it's about more time doing inventory management.

[*]Extra Bag Slot
Not sure what to make of this one. I figured that you'd have your default inventory and then 4 slots for bags. If you have to pay to unlock those, that's a little annoying. If this is just some kind of 5th bag slot, that's kind of cool. Not game breaking at all though.

same as above. it's not like the exp boosts, where you're paying to have the curve accelerated... this makes the game more fun for those who buy it. everyone is going to pretty-much need as much inventory space on their mains as possible, likely. all serious players will buy this eventually.

[*]Mystic Key
This is the only item that concerns me, but logically, it sounds like they'll work like Lockboxes in World of Warcraft; you're out questing, killing mobs and they occasionally drop a treasure box you can't open. It's not a great system and I really don't see the need for it, but I guess it does add a gold sink and it does add some element of surprise. I could see people putting unopened Mystic Chests on the Marketplace and people treating it a bit like gambling. The annoyance factor will be determined by A.) How often they drop and B.) the variance of the item inside. If there's a chance your Mystic Chest contains vendor trash, then it's definitely bullshit. If you're guaranteed to get something decent though, that's not quite as bad.

we'll see on these, but probably they're horrible/annoying. nothing more "fun" than finding loot you can't even see what it is. this type of thing *only* exists because of microtransactions and has about the same "fun" factor as a vlt. crass psychological exploitation.

none of these are going to wreck the game, but they're definitely not providing you with the "full package of fun" in the box. lots of this stuff is very gameplay-relevant and you'll miss it if you don't shell out for it at some point.

 

[Retro]

There's a whole lot of entitlement, circle-jerking, hyperbole, jealousy, and other negative vibes going on in this thread. I think some of you need to take it down a notch or two.

Hey, you getting enough A/C in the back there? Enough leg room? My seat can come forward a little bit if you want more, I don't mind. Just want to make sure you're comfortable.

Bank slots I understand, but aren't bags something that should be free and simple to get like in GW1 ?

The way it's worded, the Extra Bag Slot item sounds like it gives you an additional slot for a bag, in addition to the default bag and 4 bag slots you start with. I could be wrong though.

As for buying a bag, it's probably a convenience issue for people who want to have lots of storage right off the bat. I can't say I blame them, starting with a small inventory always drives me up the wall, but I think I'll manage until I can buy/craft some of my own.

Of course I'd prefer if there were no cash shop at all, but I know that's not how the world works so I'm satisfied with what Im seeing.

I can only thing of one or two ways it could be better, and even those are based entirely on a trickle of leaked information from a beta that will very likely change. But I can think of a lot of ways in which things could be worse. If you're going to have to deal with a cash shop, this is probably the best way to do it.

 

[speedpop]

The fact that GAF is a closed account forum doesn't help your outreach. It may be viewable by the public but if a regular person cannot register and join in the discussion there and then, then why bother handing out beta access that people are going to forget about by the time the game is released?

This thread is not going to generate the same amount of traffic or interest compared to the Guild Wars-centric fansites & forums or the popular video bloggers. Not to mention the fact that the beta is supposed to be non-public due to the NDAs.

 

[GrizzNKev]

The fact that GAF is a closed account forum doesn't help your outreach. It may be viewable by the public but if a regular person cannot register and join in the discussion there and then, then why bother handing out beta access that people are going to forget about by the time the game is released?

This thread is not going to generate the same amount of traffic or interest compared to the Guild Wars-centric fansites & forums or the popular video bloggers. Not to mention the fact that the beta is supposed to be non-public due to the NDAs.

For the record, Jira's mass info thread has been regularly linked in a few places with large communities in which he does not participate.

I did what I did based on the grounds that top contributors to other fansites were invited for doing little to nothing more than what we do here on GAF.

Like I said, we're not going to be destroyed if I don't get a reply or they say no. I just thought it would be a nice thing to try to do for someone who I feel deserves to be a part of the beta process. Nobody is getting hurt here.

 

[Retro]

storage definitely affects gameplay... this is the exact type of thing that irritates me... it makes playing annoying for folk who don't spend cash. it's not about more time playing a fun game - it's about more time doing inventory management.

Well, you can still buy bags (from vendors or on the Marketplace) or craft them yourself. So it's not like your only choices are "Pay cash for Bags" or "Suffer with a tiny inventory". The default inventory itself is supposed to be pretty big too, according to the Wiki all characters start with a 20 slot backpack. 12 slots isn't even the largest bag size, so it feels more like an option for impatient people who just don't want to wait 20 minutes to gather materials or find the bag vendor.

same as above. it's not like the exp boosts, where you're paying to have the curve accelerated... this makes the game more fun for those who buy it. everyone is going to pretty-much need as much inventory space on their mains as possible, likely. all serious players will buy this eventually.

To me, it sounds like you just get another slot to put a bag in. While I'm sure most people will want this on their mains, it doesn't strike me as something you absolutely need. It also doesn't affect gameplay, just quality of life. Someone with an extra bag doesn't have any advantage over you other than he has to stop and bank/vendor every half hour instead of every 25 minutes.

we'll see on these, but probably they're horrible/annoying. nothing more "fun" than finding loot you can't even see what it is. this type of thing *only* exists because of microtransactions and has about the same "fun" factor as a vlt. crass psychological exploitation.

Yeah, I'm concerned about the Mythic Chest/Key thing too, and it's clearly a gold/cash sink. I'm comfortable with it because I know there's no subscription fee, server transfer fees and all of the cash shop items are quality of life / cosmetic rather than pay-to-win items. It's a necessary evil of the business model and not a deal-breaker at all. Others may feel differently.

none of these are going to wreck the game, but they're definitely not providing you with the "full package of fun" in the box. lots of this stuff is very gameplay-relevant and you'll miss it if you don't shell out for it at some point

I don't feel like they're intentionally cutting features from the "Full package" to force players to buy gems. There aren't features that are outright missing, for one. While I will definitely want some of the cash shop items, there aren't any that I need. And knowing that I can use in-game currency to buy them pretty much seals the deal.

I'm not saying your concerns aren't valid, but I personally feel the game looks fun enough and the cash shop items harmless enough for it not to matter.

I just thought it would be a nice thing to try to do for someone who I feel deserves to be a part of the beta process. Nobody is getting hurt here.

Yeah, I don't care if I or anyone else from GAF gets in, but the amount of work Jira has put into maintaining a singular source of info on all things GW2 deserves a little love. It's on all the major gaming sites, usually stickied, and it's a wealth of info for people who have no idea what GW2 is all about. I linked all of my friends and family to his OP and none of them had questions about the game afterwords (and most were convinced to give it a shot).

 

[BrettWeir]

Holy cow. This thread went nuts.

So Grizz shared some leaked info? I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, I do to ArenaNet and Rubi being upset about the initial release, but of those that share it? Come on.

My main concern about the leaked info, is price change difference between beta and release. If beta testers can purchase those items in the beta, and they transfer to the live game (like Jira confirmed a couple pages ago), beta testers may be getting these items cheaper/expensive than the final cost.

I played GW1.....not religiously, and I never bought anything from the MTS. I'm kind of shocked at the prices of some of these items. Making me re-think my CE purchase, going down to Digital Deluxe, since I know I will want some of those items day 1. With no different special features at all in game between CE/DD, I think money would be best spent expanding my game than having a statue and an art book. The prices don't bother me at all, just a little taken back.

 

[RepairmanJack]

Yeah, I'm concerned about the Mythic Chest/Key thing too, and it's clearly a gold/cash sink. I'm comfortable with it because I know there's no subscription fee, server transfer fees and all of the cash shop items are quality of life / cosmetic rather than pay-to-win items. It's a necessary evil of the business model and not a deal-breaker at all. Others may feel differently.

It's definitely not a deal breaker for me, but it would make me feel a lot better about it if you could somehow get keys in the game. Even if they are extremely rare drops it would still give people the chance to store the chests and hope to get one some day.

Also I hope the chests and keys(if they're in the game) can be sold for gold as well. If i could sell two chests to fund the key to open one, I'd be good with this as well.

 

[Symphonic]

The game will be on Steam?

GW1 + Expansions are on Steam, and NCSoft did a fairly big launch thing in Steam for Aion, so it's a safe bet.

storage definitely affects gameplay... this is the exact type of thing that irritates me... it makes playing annoying for folk who don't spend cash. it's not about more time playing a fun game - it's about more time doing inventory management.


same as above. it's not like the exp boosts, where you're paying to have the curve accelerated... this makes the game more fun for those who buy it. everyone is going to pretty-much need as much inventory space on their mains as possible, likely. all serious players will buy this eventually.


we'll see on these, but probably they're horrible/annoying. nothing more "fun" than finding loot you can't even see what it is. this type of thing *only* exists because of microtransactions and has about the same "fun" factor as a vlt. crass psychological exploitation.

none of these are going to wreck the game, but they're definitely not providing you with the "full package of fun" in the box. lots of this stuff is very gameplay-relevant and you'll miss it if you don't shell out for it at some point.

All of these can be bought with game time though, by exchanging gold for gems. No one will miss out on getting these, it'll just be faster if you put out some cash.

 

[Symphonic]

DP, sorry

 

[Retro]

It's definitely not a deal breaker for me, but it would make me feel a lot better about it if you could somehow get keys in the game. Even if they are extremely rare drops it would still give people the chance to store the chests and hope to get one some day.

Also I hope the chests and keys(if they're in the game) can be sold for gold as well. If i could sell two chests to fund the key to open one, I'd be good with this as well.

We just don't know enough and that's the big downside to this leak; instead of the carefully-controlled nuggets we get from the development team, we've got an incomplete picture.

We have to just wait and see. All the leak does is throw gasoline on the fire; very exciting, but it burns away so quickly that it doesn't provide more than a brief flash of illumination.

 

[birdchili]

Well, you can still buy bags (from vendors or on the Marketplace) or craft them yourself. So it's not like your only choices are "Pay cash for Bags" or "Suffer with a tiny inventory".

true... chances are good that i'll pay real cash for these on my main if i get to the point where i need more inventory space (as we don't really know much about consumables yet, i'm not really sure how quickly my inventory will fill up).

Someone with an extra bag doesn't have any advantage over you other than he has to stop and bank/vendor every half hour instead of every 25 minutes.

i hate it when i'm having less fun/minute than other players

Yeah, I'm concerned about the Mythic Chest/Key thing too, and it's clearly a gold/cash sink. I'm comfortable with it because I know there's no subscription fee, server transfer fees and all of the cash shop items are quality of life / cosmetic rather than pay-to-win items. It's a necessary evil of the business model and not a deal-breaker at all. Others may feel differently.

necessary evil exactly. i shall be treating these chests as irritating vendor trash that i have to manage through the marketplace.

i certainly understand the need for a cash shop, but this kind of thing breaks immersion for me and constantly reminds me of the real-money gambling nature of the game for some people.

I'm not saying your concerns aren't valid, but I personally feel the game looks fun enough and the cash shop items harmless enough for it not to matter.

absolutely. i'm just crotchety about microtransactions like this

gw2 game price= base price+ (#of active characters x (full inventory upgrade price))

the character xp boosts don't tempt me at all (game is so fun i want to play it *less*?). crafting boosters are different since i'm always tempted by the stuff you can get by crafting, but tend to absolutely hate crafting mechanics/"gameplay"... i'm certain i have the good sense to just ignore it if i don't find it fun (having the marketplace let me post about what i want and what i'm willing to pay is going to be sooo good)...

 

[Warrior_Keoni]

I find it absolutely hilarious how Guru forums explode with anger about people paying for stuff...

You can still earn gold in-game and purchase the items eventually. The people who are paying for it in cash to gems are just getting it earlier. I'm not sure what the deal is, as I wouldn't mind dropping a small amount of money for some in-game stuff.

 

[GrizzNKev]

For Retro.

 

[RepairmanJack]

I find it absolutely hilarious how Guru forums explode with anger about people paying for stuff...

You can still earn gold in-game and purchase the items eventually. The people who are paying for it in cash to gems are just getting it earlier. I'm not sure what the deal is, as I wouldn't mind dropping a small amount of money for some in-game stuff.

The biggest issue I have seen that I am still not sure of is how Guild Influence is bought. A lot of people's concern is that they buy gems and trade those for gold and then go and buy influence. From the perks that influence gives it looks like there was karma and token boosts in there. So their thought is you can indirectly buy better gear quicker if you get token or karma boosts.

My only gripe is we still don't know for sure how the influence will work. They could change it by launch, but the information they are going off of was all seen before gems came up in the conversation. If this doesn't change maybe there can be a concern, but for now when we don't know I think they are being overdramatic.

 

[Spookie]

It's reasons like the above that NeoGAF wouldn't be considered a community for GuildWars 2 and why they won't consider sending special invitations for folks on this board just for talking about the game.

Worked for Dota 2, we got 20 keys, 20, last year from IceFrog to give away to posters on GAF.

So you never know. That beta was 300 deep at the point we got keys.

 

[birdchili]

So their thought is you can indirectly buy better gear quicker if you get token or karma boosts.

sure. that's *exactly* what they're selling. this kind of thing doesn't bother me in the slightest as long as there's enough pve content for each level to make the whole curve enjoyable. there's always going to be folk better geared than you...

 

[Helmholtz]

It's reasons like the above that NeoGAF wouldn't be considered a community for GuildWars 2 and why they won't consider sending special invitations for folks on this board just for talking about the game. I find it somewhat laughable that you sent an email to them asking for beta access for one or more GAF members based on nothing more than words posted to an internet gaming forum... yet contribute to the spread of NDA'd information.

There's a whole lot of entitlement, circle-jerking, hyperbole, jealousy, and other negative vibes going on in this thread. I think some of you need to take it down a notch or two. Stones are frequently cast in here at other forums and at other games. It can be a bit petty sometimes.

Yeah..kind of have to agree. Even if they did give GAF invites, why should some members have priority over others? Pretty silly. Just because some people have posted more than others doesn't make the people with less posts any less interested in the beta. I also find that this thread often has a bit too much praise and not enough critique. And I don't mean people should be shitting on the game, but there should be some more critical analysis.

Worked for Dota 2, we got 20 keys, 20, last year from IceFrog to give away to posters on GAF.

So you never know. That beta was 300 deep at the point we got keys.

Yeah, and that worked out really nicely. COUGH MEERU COUGH

 

[RepairmanJack]

sure. that's *exactly* what they're selling. this kind of thing doesn't bother me in the slightest as long as there's enough pve content for each level to make the whole curve enjoyable. there's always going to be folk better geared than you...

Yeah, I really don't see the huge gripe. If the gold prices on the influence is pretty high and it only gives them a little better gear a little quicker I don't understand how it's an issue. It's not like they are taking the gear from the dungeon and token vendars and selling them for dirt cheap. They aren't even indirectly doing that. They are giving a boost, you still have to go do the work.