New Player Feedback

Greetings! Apologies in advance of this is not the correct forum where this topic belongs! I'm going to jump right into this and share a few things about myself to add some context to the feedback I'll be giving. I am a former WoW raider/pvper, and while I love the style of the MMO genre, I was finding that I did not have the time to spend in order to compete on the level I'd grown accustomed. I suppose it's also important to mention that I played the original GW almost religiously and loved every second of it, but somewhere over the years I lost my CD key ( mained a Mesmer/Warrior, take that establishment! ). I've only been playing about a month now, and the overwhelming amount of things to do after level 80 is finally starting to transform into something a tad less panic inducing, though this is a wonderful problem to have in this type of game. The combat feels fast, fluid, and incredibly enjoyable, and the optional exploration elements are a great touch ( though I still have a TON to learn about PVP ).

So, with all the fun I've been having, my satisfaction level must be through the roof, right? Well, no.

There is one aspect to this game that bothers me so badly it's all but lead to some terrible buyer's remorse: the Living Seasons. They feel like yet one more paywall for a game that I was promised was free to play after I purchased the core experience and the accompanied expansions ( absolutely love the new mounts ). I have already purchased gems and some cosmetics, so spending extra money is NOT the issue for me. I suppose it's a principle thing. It makes me feel cheated. Those good vibes all but disappear when I realize the road I have to travel for ascended trinkets is a bit longer than what others might experience, simply because they decided to shell out more cash or because they've played longer.

I did a healthy amount of research before deciding to post my feedback, so I am fully expecting a verbal lashing from the more hardcore fan base, but I am really just interested in a discussion here. I understand ALL sides to the argument, but can't help but feel that it will hurt the chances of a new player wanting to stay. I have been trying to convince my brother to purchase the expansions, but the saltiness he displays towards my mounted speed tells me all I need to know about his perceived experience, and so it would be foolish of me to tell him about these extra maps before that. This is what I feel Anet has kind of done to me. It is not common knowledge that not ALL content is available to you, though you have shelled out the cash for the currently "available" content.

I am not stuck in my ways. I'm open to hear what you guys think. Maybe I missed an easier avenue to trinkets ( currently pinning my hopes on Fractals/Laurels )? Perhaps there is an in game way to reach these maps via gold? Have the Devs stated that player retention is no longer a priority? Thanks in advance for your well thought out responses, if any!

I don't think your concerns are over the top or out of line. For example, I feel LW: Season 2 should have been included for new paying customers that bought either PoF or HoT or both. It's old content now and also includes several ways through the story to gain important central Tyria mastery points. Season 3.. I can see why that is still buy to play for players that missed it because it is still fairly new.

As for ascended trinkets there are other methods of acquisition outside the Living World seasons. Perhaps this wiki link will be helpful:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_trinket#Acquisition_methods

As a final note, ascended anything isn't really necessary in most of the game. So there is really no rush to obtain ascended items. Sure in raids and upper level fractals you will want them. However most of the game as far as PvE and even WvW is manageable without ascended.

If someone buys a game, sellers should handover the whole thing, not just a hollow shell.

An after-buy-demand of extra-money for story-content seems somewhat fishy.

And, by the way, these story-chapter are not cheap, the easy double the price you paid for the game.

I agree the old living seasons should be replayable, because it is a central part of the core storyline. Even though I do think it's really nice to be able to have a hand or impact in the history of Tyria thus far and feel a belonging of the present and past moments that are no longer changeable, the living stories are actually part of the primary storyline, which means these are not just an impact on the whole of Tyria open world but a significant part of the players personal story.

It would've made sense if it was more separate. Call it a paywall or whatever but at this point it is not separate. The events of HoT go into LS3 and then PoF. When players get to the Departing some may have not experienced the past events and these memories don't make sense or don't mean anything to them. The player is also not 'commander' or Dragons Watch guild leader without going through those events.

They have mixed up general open world living story with personal story and so thus, living story should be made available for players to recap and understand. Older players may also want to revisit memories and so on. Do it as a sort of fractal thing, like a time machine revisiting of the past or so.

They invested time and effort into quality content in these episodes and it would also be a waste if other players can't enjoy it

I feel like it might be worthwhile for them to re-examine how they do the seasons. One won't be available, probably ever. Season Two is an entry to Expansion 1, so maybe it should come with a purchase of the main game. Season Three is an entry to Expansion 2, so maybe it should come with a purchase of HoT. If you already had HoT and you didn't get Season Three, then fine, you have to pay, but if you're new to everything, it's reasonable.

That said, it is possible to buy Gems with Gold, as such it's possible to purchase the Seasons for free. I upgraded my purchase of GW2 to Deluxe with Gems I converted with Gold. It's fairly common practice.

It seems absurd to lock the game's main story behind a purchase that's not an expansion. It seems even more absurd that this would be a non-issue were the expansions a little more expensive while including their correlating LW seasons. As it stands, I'm currently debating whether to skip purchasing the LW content out of sheer principle, albeit I feel pressured into buying them for the sake of progress. Sure leaves a bitter taste.

@ovinnik.9216 said:It seems absurd to lock the game's main story behind a purchase that's not an expansion. It seems even more absurd that this would be a non-issue were the expansions a little more expensive while including their correlating LW seasons. As it stands, I'm currently debating whether to skip purchasing the LW content out of sheer principle, albeit I feel pressured into buying them for the sake of progress. Sure leaves a bitter taste.

I love that you mentioned integrating the LW price into the expansions, because that was the very first solution that came to mind for me as well. While it kind of pains me to have to go back and spend a little more on content I feel should have been included, the thought of having paid $40 - $45 for the xpac + LW 1 or 2 seems to sting just a bit less.

I'm a "hardcore" player but I totally agree about the lack of communication about living seasons not being included prior to buying the game.Imho when they release an extension, the "deluxe" tier should contain the previous living seasons.

As mentioned above, everything in the Gem Store/Story Journal (save Living World Season 1 and expansions) is obtainable through gameplay with the Gold-to-Gems exchange. Living World Season Episodes are going for only 44 Gold (and less if bought in a bundle), so that's pretty darn reasonable, especially since you are freely given 60 Gold per month just by logging in and doing 3 simple Dailies (not to mention the extra 30-50 Gold available just for logging in each day by way of exchange Laurels for mats).

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

I'm a GW2 player since the beginning, I've missed the LW season 1I'm facked. Can't buy it.The end

@Deihnyx.6318 said:Imho when they release an extension, the "deluxe" tier should contain the previous living seasons.

Good idea, that would have been a nice feature for new players that bought PoF Deluxe or Ultimate or even the PoF + HoT bundle. It might have encouraged new players to buy the upgraded packages. Heck, maybe a lot of new players did buy Deluxe or Ultimate not knowing they would also have to pay again to unlock the old LW stuff either through gold to gems or through buying gems directly. I can see where that would be a bit of a bummer for a new player. Then again, there would have most certainly been "veteran" players saying it wasn't fair and they should get something more since new players that bought Deluxe get the living world seasons for "free" that veteran players "earned" by just logging in. Ahh how these forums work. No one ever wins. :smile:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:As mentioned above, everything in the Gem Store/Story Journal (save Living World Season 1 and expansions) is obtainable through gameplay with the Gold-to-Gems exchange. Living World Season Episodes are going for only 44 Gold (and less if bought in a bundle), so that's pretty darn reasonable, especially since you are freely given 60 Gold per month just by logging in and doing 3 simple Dailies (not to mention the extra 30-50 Gold available just for logging in each day by way of exchange Laurels for mats).

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

I expected this to come up sooner rather than later, mostly because I don't entirely disagree with the point you're making. However, I think my point, and the point of many others that'd commented, is that they should either make these things clear, or start packaging them together with the expansions. This does not seem an unreasonable request, nor is it in direct conflict with your opinion.

Welcome to Tyria! Glad you're enjoying your time (for the most part).

First, I agree that there should be more ways to obtain ascended trinkets, especially ones that have Heart of Thorns attributes. As it stands, a new PVE player without Living World Season 3 that wants to obtain Ascended Vipers trinkets, for example, will either need to beat their heads against a paywall, or be forced to play a game mode they may not necessarily want to. Both options are terrible.

On the other hand, the Living World chapters are content that are not included into price of the expansions. While they are presented free to existing customers who have logged on while the chapters were active, the current model allows the chapters to become an additional revenue source for ArenaNet, and thus allow them to continue producing more such content on a regular basis. This not only rewards long-time players, but also provides an incentive to log into the game on a regular basis. Besides the issue pointed out above, the contents of the Living World chapters are entirely optional.

@dudeskio.9678 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:As mentioned above, everything in the Gem Store/Story Journal (save Living World Season 1 and expansions) is obtainable through gameplay with the Gold-to-Gems exchange. Living World Season Episodes are going for only 44 Gold (and less if bought in a bundle), so that's pretty darn reasonable, especially since you are freely

given

60 Gold per month just by logging in and doing 3 simple Dailies (not to mention the extra 30-50 Gold available just for logging in each day by way of exchange Laurels for mats).

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

Then, I'm unclear why this question is in the OP: "Perhaps there is an in game way to reach these maps via gold?"

It's clear if consulting the Wiki, or asking on the forums, or in-game. A simple, "How can I acquire these Stories listed in the Story Journal" should suffice.

Again, good luck. = )

Hey man welcome to gw2 hope you have a good time playing it. Ita keep ya busy if you can get into it. Lotta stuff to do, lotta goals to chase after. Make sure you set a few goals. Once i started setting goals some even seemed impossible, but they'll keep you busy and are possible even if they take time. Take care and happy gaming.

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

@dudeskio.9678 said:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:As mentioned above, everything in the Gem Store/Story Journal (save Living World Season 1 and expansions) is obtainable through gameplay with the Gold-to-Gems exchange. Living World Season Episodes are going for only 44 Gold (and less if bought in a bundle), so that's pretty darn reasonable, especially since you are freely

given

60 Gold per month just by logging in and doing 3 simple Dailies (not to mention the extra 30-50 Gold available just for logging in each day by way of exchange Laurels for mats).

Welcome to Tyria, and good luck.

I understand if you're confused, it's obviously a complex subject. It was my understanding that the path involving gold required converting it to Gems, the premium currency. If that is a misconception on my part, I apologize. Not only that, but you took one question, one sentence, out of a broad body of text to suit your view point.

Also, why should I, as a new player that has already paid for the core game experience AND two expansions be expected to pay for more, slightly hidden content OR use the gold I've earned in game to reach them?

I was merely answering the question you asked in the OP. Take the information as you will. I am ambivalent toward the rest of your feedback. It is what it is.Good luck.

ArenaNet made it clear that you get the "core game" plus whatever expansion content you pay for, whether that's Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire. From what I see ArenaNet delivered on their promise to give you that content. The Living Story content is dropped outside the expansion maps and includes stories that aren't really needed to enjoy the expansion content. The LS content provides more context but it's not necessary. People who feel they're "cheated" or misled because they didn't realize they need to buy LS content are wrong because they don't need to buy the content. Get it if you want it.