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Anniversary Sale: Starting with a whimper?


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@"Luthan.5236" said:Wiki lists now soon the Unbreakable Gathering Tools on sale:https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Gem_Store/Anniversary_Saleshttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Unbreakable_Gathering_Tools

For me it is interesting. As returning player after a long break ... I still don't have them. And buying new of the normal gathering tools is pain. (Same with salvage kits.) Didn't plan on these ... only for Living World S2 and maybe char/bank slot (for my 9th char when I buy HoT and make a revenant) ... but with 50 percent off I guess it would be stupid not to buy them.

I guess between all those unlimited gathering tools there is no big difference? (Other than some having glyphs - which cost more ... but glyphs are available for gold at the trading post if I saw correctly.)

You still need to have a different set on every character or you need to keep swapping them between character right? For me that's pretty much as much of an effort (or possibly more, because you need to do it every time you switch a character) as just restocking multiple gathering tools once in a while for every character.I thought they changed it so they work for every character account-wide, but I think wiki claims otherwise. For me that defeats the purpose of having them.

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@Sobx.1758 said:

@"Luthan.5236" said:Wiki lists now soon the Unbreakable Gathering Tools on sale:

For me it is interesting. As returning player after a long break ... I still don't have them. And buying new of the normal gathering tools is pain. (Same with salvage kits.) Didn't plan on these ... only for Living World S2 and maybe char/bank slot (for my 9th char when I buy HoT and make a revenant) ... but with 50 percent off I guess it would be stupid not to buy them.

I guess between all those unlimited gathering tools there is no big difference? (Other than some having glyphs - which cost more ... but glyphs are available for gold at the trading post if I saw correctly.)

You still need to have a different set on every character or you need to keep swapping them between character right? For me that's pretty much as much of an effort (or possibly more, because you need to do it every time you switch a character) as just restocking multiple gathering tools once in a while for every character.I thought they changed it so they work for every character account-wide, but I think wiki claims otherwise. For me that defeats the purpose of having them.

3 account wide slots with 1 of each type of unlimited tool then some copper ones on each character and its only 3 dubble taps (total of 6) when login in and out,

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Well ... I only need one since I plan to do the dailies (which also require gathering) and farming (should I be in the mood for that) on my main. Main char (the one I want to play most) might change ... but not too often. Other chars will just rush through the maps for completion and story. Don't want to waste time with gathering. I know a lot of players to "power gathering" and I even see lots of them during normal playing. (And some even might have tons of different chars "parked" in different maps.)

But that might be for end gamers that have nothing else left in the game besides doing power farming to make money (gold). Boring and I'd rather stop playing then. Everyone has a different taste. I bet most tools got sold to noobs that are even at the very beginning gathering for their own needs (crafting) - not even to power gather for selling and to make money.

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@Sobx.1758 said:Ah, true, you can dedicate the shared slots to hold the regular tools for easier swaps, I have to admit that is more convenient. Still would feel slightly 'meh' about the taken 3 shared slots :p

For the most part, it works out really well.It's not nearly as convenient as an account-wide shared gathering tool slot, of course. Still the advantage depends on how many toons one uses to gather more than a few items each.

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@Josiah.2967 said:Was anyone else hoping for something new today? Seems like today, Sunday, and Monday will be dead days. Here's hoping that means they bring back the Black Lion Vouchers on Tuesday.

August 13Summit Wildhorn Springer Skin—20% Off

August 14Tremor Armadillo Roller Beetle Skin—20% Off

August 16Distant Lands Mount Adoption License—20% OffDistant Lands Mount Select License—40% OffHome Instance Node Pack—35% OffUnbreakable Gathering Tools—50% Off (limit one per account)

August 17Path of Fire Survival Package—35% OffElonian Introductory Package—35% Off

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I'm confused. Arenanet claims that the anniversary sales this year has begun, however, the only things that appear in the gemstore are neat pixel arrangements that cost nearly as much as the game itself. I understand that the "good" items may not be released till near the end of this year's sales but come on now, 16 days of cosmetics with one day where no new items were added at all? If you need a marketing/sales director feel free to reach out to me or any other capable player Anet.

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It’s interesting to compare with last year which players also said was underwhelming but there seemed to be slightly better discounts (salvage o magic was cheaper kn last years sale)

Looking through the wiki list for 2019, they seem to be - with the odd exception - ramping up the discounts as we progress

I’m not overly bothered. The game has diminished for me so I’ve pulled back my spending for other games right now

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Because people keep making claims, I decided it might be useful to compare actual data for the last few years of Anniversary Sales.

tl;dr 2019 is roughly the same as every other anniversary in terms of quantity, quality, and discounts. Cosmetics predominate and the stuff we covet the most shows up closer to the end.

Speculation: people are less patient because of the extended sales period (a month this year and last, versus 10-18 days the two years previous).

Total Number of Items Offered

Tally of Initial 16 Days (full month tally)

  • 2019 34 (? over tbd days)
  • 2018 20 (51 over 30 days)
  • 2017 48 (51 over 18 days)
  • 2016 64 (64 over 10 days)

2016-7 had more items offered in the first two weeks, but only because they also had fewer weeks of sales.

First 16 Days Breakdown of Types on Offer

Cosmetic = any skins, MountFits, novelty items, or anything else that is more about fashion. Upgrade is an account-wide unlock (storage expansion, character slot, et). Utility are things that we use (gathering tools, VIP passes, etc)

  • 2019 Cosmetic|28, Upgrade|1, Utility|5
  • 2018 Cosmetic|5, Upgrade|7, Utility|8
  • 2017 Cosmetic|41, Upgrade|4, Utility|3
  • 2016 Cosmetic|51, Upgrade|5, Utility|8
Average Discount by Category (First 16 Days)
  • 2019 Cosmetic|18, Upgrade|35, Utility|34
  • 2018 Cosmetic|20, Upgrade|33, Utility|36
  • 2017 Cosmetic|38, Upgrade|26, Utility|42
  • 2016 Cosmetic|15, Upgrade|31, Utility|23

2017 had better cosmetic discounts, otherwise it's been the same for upgrades and utilities (on average). (These values don't change much looking at the full cycle of previous years.)

Breakdown of Categories for Full Period
  • 2018 Cosmetic|48, Upgrade|10, Utility|18
  • 2017 Cosmetic|41, Upgrade|6, Utility|4
  • 2016 Cosmetic|51, Upgrade|5, Utility|8
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Noticed this as well when checking the wiki - with the better stuff at the end. I just hope they'll bring Living World Season 2 at the end as well - cause last year it was at the beginning. With me 4000 gems bought and the 1200 for gathering tools I have 2800 left. I need Season 2 and a char slot (to prepar for HoT which I buy next month maybe) - also a bank slot or expander. If everything goes on sale as in the previous years (I used the lowest percentage off that appeart in wiki for anniversary sale) I might even get bank slot and a storage expander + some left for a bag slot for my main char (maybe if only few gems are missing trading gold for gems).

Node pack seems tempting - especially now that I have the unbreakable gathering tools and doing more gathering now. But some of them (or all) are for gold at trading post. Need to calculate which is cheaper and then checking next year - this isn't top priority now. (Guess I'll fill up the plants ingriedients in my storage by gathering for now - there are tons of different ones and while ores and wood almost all are maxed there I need to fill up. Have been too lazy at gathering cause replacing the tools was a hassle - which isn't anymore now with my unbreakable ones.)

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@Alin.2468 said:It's weird: so many bundles, and players can not send them as gifts from one another, on anniversary sale.Some packages can be gifted; some not.

For example, of the two promotional items currently on the TP

  • Lightbender Blades Combo: giftable
  • Noble Courtier package: no giftable

The latter is tagged as only available once per account, which is probably why it's not giftable in terms of mechanics. That doesn't explain why, although it implies that one package or the other was mistakenly flagged.

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@Josiah.2967 said:Anyone else feeling incredibly let down by the anniversary sale? I bought hundreds of dollars worth of gems in anticipation for the sale, and have bought almost nothing. I hope it ends with a bang because it started with a whimper.

when compared to the items on sale last year it is by far way more high priced items and more geared to fashion wars than utility - as somebody who has never fallen down that rabbit hole Im not feeling compelled to bust out the credit card - hope they put some char slots up at least

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@van smite.9308 said:

@Josiah.2967 said:Anyone else feeling incredibly let down by the anniversary sale? I bought hundreds of dollars worth of gems in anticipation for the sale, and have bought almost nothing. I hope it ends with a bang because it started with a whimper.

when compared to the items on sale last year ... more geared to fashion wars than utility - as somebody who has never fallen down that rabbit hole Im not feeling compelled to bust out the credit card - hope they put some char slots up at least

The data doesn't support that impression. Each year has roughly the same ratio of fashion to utility, with more of the utility showing up towards the end.

when compared to the items on sale last year it is by far way more high priced itemsI might get around to comparing that later.

I didn't do so originally because I'm not sure it's a fair comparison. MountFits weren't available at all in the 2016-17 anniversaries (POF launched afterward) and ANet's introduced a lot more packages retailed at 1200 gems or more, including some that are utility oriented.

It's fair to say that in general that ANet is leaning towards higher-cost, higher-value items in the shop. It's also not surprising, because it's what the CEO said they planned to do, because it's actually appealing to those who spend a lot on the game.

Accordingly, there are more high-priced items included in Anniversary discounts simply because there are more available to include.


The fair comparison would be whether there are a similar amount of lower-priced items this year as there have been in previous years, not whether the ratio has changed.

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I hyped so much! Well, I hope we get there soon. No, I haven't really followed sales for some years, just reading some commentary here this time.I have such expectations for tomorrow. Shiny excellent things, right? Right?Now, to continue planning my new future characters. <3

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