My thoughts on the "lootbox" Mount Skins

I'm all for ArenaNet being supported. They deserve it and more support = more growth and content (expansions, LW, housing, elite specs, new mounts, more voice actors, henchies, did I mention HOUSING? ;), ect.) But the way of non-direct sales, especially for a major feature like mounts where there are multiple mounts that can be skinned, is probably not the best way to fund the game while keeping support strong overall and over-time.

This works mostly with BL chests because they always had random contents, their contents change each time they update it, there is usually only one particular, new and special item that is exclusive to it at a time, and they were the primary type of item that we have come to expect RNG from. Now that same concept has been used on mounts. A new feature that has 5 different objects to skin and possibly more in the future. The same concept of BL chests isn't earned or fitting for mounts yet. Maybe when there are over 40 mount skins that would work, but just after they have been introduced makes it very difficult to accept.

Skins like the Halloween Spooky pack, the Reforged Warhound, the Resplendent Avian... are all better ways of releasing certain skins. They are very high-priced, but you know what you are purchasing and you would only purchase them if you really wanted them enough. If I saw a skin that I just had to have and it was 2000 gems, I would consider getting it and I wouldn't completely regret the money spent later because I knew I wanted it. With RNG boxes, you don't know what you'll get and unless you love every mount skin or are happy to spend more to support GW 2, you will feel that you wasted money on something you didn't want.

The argument that mount skins are purely cosmetic and optional is true, but not enough to justify this kind of indirect purchase. GW 2 is built on the endgame of aesthetics. So much is built on rewarding with and working towards skins and not higher tiers of character attributes. So to say that something is purely cosmetic and optional diminishes the desire and focus of GW 2 players that are trying to achieve what the game designers intended. I don't think that's an argument that should have been used to defend the choice of lootboxes. There are many other credible, respectful, and encouraging ways it could have been defended, implemented, ect. So to me, this was the biggest misstep.

If the "lootbox" way of mount skins was released later on after a first round of mount skins, it may have been accepted better. If ALL the mount skins were actually new and unique skins and worth the price, it probably would have been accepted better. There were many obvious choices made here that feel like they were geared toward making as much money from the skins as possible including the timing and the way they defended the choices after. Even the original wording of "Mount" vs. "Mount Skin" could have been perceived as a tactic to make more.

Whatever the truth and various intentions were, we can only hope better ways of releasing mount skins lies ahead and that the money we did spend goes to support the devs, the game, and ultimately benefit us all.