GW2 March Sales: Predictions (aka Those Who Do Remember History Sometimes Still Have to Repeat It)

As with every previous March (except 2015) since the game launched, we're having sales. The first 5 days have been announced here and include Outfits, Gliders, and some packages, with discounts of 15-25%.

I thought it would be useful for people to see what's been offered in the past, perhaps to stock up on gems (or to avoid doing so?). Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future earnings, so take all of this with a grain of salt. The key thing to remember: sales only last 24 hours, so be sure to check out ANet's Blog, Astral Projections Gem Shop "What's New Page". Or login to the game (wait, that's exactly what they want us to do! :innocent:)

Here's a list of some popular or high-demand items and how often we've seen them in the previous four years of Marches.

• BL Keys: every year (one year, it was available twice). Discounts varied from 10|15% to 20%.
• Character slots: never.
• Shared inventory: 2017 only (25% off). (These weren't introduced until just before March 2016, so there's really only been a single year of "eligibility".)
• Bank Tab expansion: twice (20% and 40% off)
• VIP Area passes: 2017: Airship & Royal Terrace–each 30% off, 2016: Airship–20%, Royal Terrace–0%, 2014:
• Copper-Fed Salvage: three times (20-25% off)
• Silver-Fed: never.
• Storage|Collection Expander: twice (20-25% off)

Relevant Links

• March Sales Documented on the Wiki
• March 2018 Initial Blog Announcement
• Astral Projection's Gemstore items: new/returning sticky (updated daily)
• 2015 Announcements (details were not documented on the wiki)

Hmmm - can't remember when character slots were last on sale!

I tend to only buy things when they are on sale, so that way I avoid the disappointment of finding out 2 weeks after I buy something that I paid too much.

@costepj.5120 said:Hmmm - can't remember when character slots were last on sale!

I’m going to guess mid September 2017 as my 2 youngest char’s birthdays date to that time.

@costepj.5120 said:Hmmm - can't remember when character slots were last on sale!

19 August 2017. They were 560 each. (Looked it up in my Gem Shop History, which fortunately goes back that far.)

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

• Character slots: never.

Well there goes my plan for the sale. Character slots were the one thing I was planning to buy. Although shared inventory slots are a maybe.

I really wish they'd just post the whole list. It would be really helpful to know when we need to have the gems for something.

@"videoboy.4162" said:I really wish they'd just post the whole list. It would be really helpful to know when we need to have the gems for something.

Assume that you'll always want gems when you haven't bought them recently. And assume that the gold:gem conversion rate will spike when the thing you do want finally appears (because everyone's sister also wants that thing).

My recommendation for people who are waiting on sales is to buy gems regularly throughout the year, using one of the following methods:

• Invest a fixed amount of gold each week or month, regardless of the rate. Those who do dailies regularly might consider e.g. 10g/week or 50g/month.
• Buy a fixed amount of gems each week or month, also regardless of the rate.
• Buy as many gems as you can afford whenever the price falls below your preferred target rate, e.g. these last few weeks, the rate has fluctuated around 106-118g per 400 gems, so below 105g/400-gems is relatively good.

PS "regardless of rate" doesn't mean you don't look a few times before purchasing; the rate can vary by 5-10% on the same day.PPS "as many gems as you can afford" varies for each person. It could be 1000 gems worth or 25% of your wallet's coin reserves or whatever you deem is "affordable."

The goal is to make sure that you always have enough gems when you want to spend them, at an exchange rate that is lower than during the spike that inevitably appears when there's a popular item (whether due to discount or because it's too-shiny-to-resist).

@videoboy.4162 said:I really wish they'd just post the whole list. It would be really helpful to know when we need to have the gems for something.

Me too but they won't do it. They are hoping you buy a lot of the things they offer first and deplete your gems.

Many people will opt to spend RL money toward the end of the month after they have spent their gems and have run low on gold buying gems.

This is all very helpful, Na!

Anyone around that remembers a time before Dulfy was used by everyone for everything GW2-related, a time back when I helped maintain a live record of the March sales by making the "Lion's March" Black Lion Sale Visual Calendar of the sale items for the forums? Had fun times back then.

I miss 'What Savings!' guy, and all of Old LA for that matter. :\ (may need to watch Galaxy Quest yet again tonight)I do not miss Transmutation Crystals.

! Like in-game, I hoard stuff - I even have the psd still! :)

Ooh, nice find, @StinVec.3621, that brings back beeyooootiful memories.(FYI that appears to be the full list from 2014; it matches up in detail with the wiki's list.)

I checked wiki, reddit, and Dulfy for 2015 sales; no joy.

In 2016, they had a sale on living world season 2. I'm hoping that they'll do something similar for season 2/3 this year.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:Ooh, nice find, @StinVec.3621, that brings back beeyooootiful memories.(FYI that appears to be the full list from 2014; it matches up in detail with the wiki's list.)

I checked wiki, reddit, and Dulfy for 2015 sales; no joy.

Ah. If I recall correctly, March 2015 was pretty chaotic and there was not a full month of sales and it was essentially 'skipped'.

• There was the Lunar New Year sale in January of 2015.
• The base game was put on a big sale due to HoT going up for pre-order soon. (and that whole issue started with the HoT FAQ statement that the 'base game is required to play HoT' message coinciding with the base game being on sale, so many bought it while it was on sale only to discover that HoT includes the base game, which resulted in many discussions on requesting refunds as well as on the statement itself which was altered soon afterward)
• The Lion’s Arch Commemorative sale toward the end of March 2015 that was primarily new items (Scarlet's armor items, Captain's Airship Pass, LA Dye kits, etc.) as Lion's Arch was still destroyed as a result of Season 2.
• March 2015 also had a few features and changes patch that contained additional camera options (fov, etc), the steaming client and a few other tidbits.
• As they were showing off HoT at PAX East in early March 2015, HoT Pre-ordering starting, and the HoT Closed Beta was also starting just after PAX, I think they didn't want a to split players on what to spend their money on - items from the gem store or pre-order the expansion.

Sadly, March 2015 also turned into the month of the 'NEW STUFF! ... But Available for 24-hours only!' item sales.March 6-8 had items on sale for 24-hours only, as well as the Commemorative sale at the end of the month being 24-hours only on item sales (Digital Deluxe Edition, Confetti Mail Carrier, think the Golden Pig Mini too, the Black Feather Wings Backpack, Permanent Captain's Airship Pass and other items).

As there were so many other things going on that month, and ANet likely wanted people to spend their money on pre-purchasing HoT so it would have strong pre-sales and not spend their money on sale items in the gem store, they apparently decided to skip the March month-long sale event and instead just did short sales early in the month and then the LA Commemorative sale at the end.

That is my thinking on why the month-long March sale was skipped in 2015.

[edited again for additional info and corrections for clarity]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Bag Slot sale. Ever since they upped the limit, I've been waiting for them to go on sale before buying some for my mains.

@"StinVec.3621" said:Ah. If I recall correctly, March 2015 was pretty chaotic and there was not a full month of sales and it was essentially 'skipped'.

Right. I believe they referred to March sales, but it wasn't as cohesive a marketing strategy as they had in other years. (A sort of "content drought" for the gem shop.)

I wonder if they'll do a sale on mount skins. Seems unlikely, but maybe... Aside from that, I think it's finally time to pick up that copper fed salvage tool I've been eyeballing for 5 years ish.

Regarding the Characters slot sales- last March loads of people, including me checked in every day the March sales were on and it didn't happen- only for Anet to do a quick flash sale of them only a few days into April - I of course, like everyone else too I suspect WASNT checking then.

You have been warned!

Some added every day? Ya sure/ total BS. Same old for the last 3 days?????

@Blude.6812 said:Some added every day? Ya sure/ total BS. Same old for the last 3 days?????

How do you figure? First, for the first time during March Madness sales, they included toon slots in the discounts. Second, instead of letting sales last a single day, the 'new' item for each day is what's removed from the list. So some items are up for a day, some for a week. If they maintain the pace, there will still be at least 31 items that were made available and/or discounted for the month.

@costepj.5120 said:Hmmm - can't remember when character slots were last on sale!

Char slots were on sale 25% off on March 16. Shared Inventory slots were 20% off on March 10.

For me it's more about knowing when I need to log in to get the sale I want. Typically it's my luck the day I don't log in is the day I miss something on sale I would have bought. I'd love to see storage expanders 25% off.

Is there any possibility that the living world seasons will go on sale? I'm saving up gold trying to get a hold of season 2 and 3.

@OkamiLuna.5182 said:Is there any possibility that the living world seasons will go on sale? I'm saving up gold trying to get a hold of season 2 and 3.

I don't remember them being discounted generally and they never have been for March Madness sales. If you buy an entire season at once, there's a bulk discount.

• Season 2 = 1600 gems bought one chapter at a time, 1280 bought as a package (prorated to how many episodes you are missing)
• Season 3 = 1200 individually, 960 as a package.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@OkamiLuna.5182 said:Is there any possibility that the living world seasons will go on sale? I'm saving up gold trying to get a hold of season 2 and 3.

• Season 2 = 1600 gems bought one chapter at a time, 1280 bought as a package (prorated to how many episodes you are missing)
• Season 3 = 1200 individually, 960 as a package.

Yeah I noticed the discount. I've been saving trying to get the packages. Thanks though, was wondering if I should wait out the sale or not but seems like it doesn't matter.

@OkamiLuna.5182 said:was wondering if I should wait out the sale or not but seems like it doesn't matter.

If you spent the gems today and 10 days later, they discount the price, you could contact support and they'd probably find a way to help you out (perhaps refunding the gems).

If you choose to wait 4 months in case of a summer sale, then you might save another 300-500 gems. (I don't see them offering more than another 15-20%.) But then you'd still be waiting to play LS3-4.

My recommendation would be:

• If story continuity is important to you, buy just LS2 now. Finish it on at least one character and then buy LS3.
• If potential savings is more important, buy LS3 first. Next (a) complete it on at least one toon & (b) farm enough to get yourself decked out in ascended trinkets. Then buy LS2.

Either way, if ANet ends up discounting later on, you'd still end up with some of the savings. And, either way, you've access to the content sooner.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

My recommendation would be:

• If story continuity is important to you, buy just LS2 now. Finish it on at least one character and then buy LS3.
• If potential savings is more important, buy LS3 first. Next (a) complete it on at least one toon & (b) farm enough to get yourself decked out in ascended trinkets. Then buy LS2.

Either way, if ANet ends up discounting later on, you'd still end up with some of the savings. And, either way, you've access to the content sooner.

Yeah Story is important to me. I'm still fairly new but fell in love with the game mostly due to story and lore (well and exploration). I'm really impatient to catch up with the bits that I can that I've missed. :)