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Living World Access To New Players


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@kharmin.7683 said:I agree that this is not abundantly clear from Anet. It could be better. However, it is the model they have chosen and LS chapters are easily obtained by converting gold -> gems.

Maybe, eventually... I've now finished HoT, starting PoF and I certainly do not have enough gold to convert to gems to buy the story content I didn't get by buying full game and expansions. Either there's something I'm missing regarding gold or gathering the 1000g+ needed to get all Living World seasons takes much, much longer than playing through the normal story, which feels a bit disconnected for skipping that content.

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@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Keep in mind that you did not pay full price for each Expansion/Core game.

Even at the lowest cost, it was $60 (Core) + $50 (HoT) + $30 (PoF) for all the content you now get for just $30.

Oh I did pay full price for the core game, as I bought it in 2013, but barely played it back then, as RL got in the way. And then full price for the current product they offer, which is PoF+HoT for $30.

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I'm talking not only about myself. If you read my first post in this thread you'll see I mention for 'new players'. Everyone who pays for the full game that ANet is selling should get full content. That's it. Convenience and skins should be sold on the cash shop, but CONTENT should be open to all who bought the full product they sell.

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@gravekeeper.8352 said:I'm talking not only about myself. If you read my first post in this thread you'll see I mention for 'new players'. Everyone who pays for the full game that ANet is selling should get full content. That's it. Convenience and skins should be sold on the cash shop, but CONTENT should be open to all who bought the full product they sell.

They get full content for what was a part of what they bought. The Living Story seasons are not a part of that.

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@gravekeeper.8352 said:

@kharmin.7683 said:I agree that this is not abundantly clear from Anet. It could be better. However, it is the model they have chosen and LS chapters are easily obtained by converting gold -> gems.

Maybe, eventually... I've now finished HoT, starting PoF and I certainly do not have enough gold to convert to gems to buy the story content I didn't get by buying full game and expansions. Either there's something I'm missing regarding gold or gathering the 1000g+ needed to get all Living World seasons takes much, much longer than playing through the normal story, which feels a bit disconnected for skipping that content.

You don't need to purchase all episodes at once.

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And this is exactly what i've been warning about for years.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this, I have pointed out this major flaw in living world for many years as well as the reality that it gets worse and worse the more living world chaptors are introduced to the game.

Bringing new players to the game is all well and good but if they cannot complete the main game story despite buying both expansions then there is a serious problem there.Granted Anet have been pretty generous with expansions overall, atm you buy PoF and get full game access and HoT for free which is awesome.But you need that living world to fill in a lot of story gaps and frankly there is so much of it now that price tag is pretty bloated.Yes you can farm in game gold and buy them that way but that's a long and tedious process..

I've said for years that if you buy the special editions of expansions then they should come with the previous season of living world as a bonus.Likewise we need more living world season bundle discounts and more so.. a reasonable heads up on when that is due to happen so people have time to put money aside to buy them.It is infuriating when something you really want goes on sale in the store and you can't afford it.. specially when if you had known it was coming you could have put some money aside for it.. I recently went through this with character slots myself and missed the sale only to buy one shortly after for full price.

Living world is a big part of this game so it needs to be made easier to obtian for newer players who missed it, otherwise I see it as more of a reason for new players not to bother with this game and that's just unfortunate and I don't want anyone to feel that way about one of my favourite games.

I am a Gw2 Collectors owner as well as an owner of both HoT and PoF ultimate editions and will be adding Expansion 3's ultimate edition to this collection as well.I've played the game since Beta and been present for all the free living world over the last 8 years and i've put god knows how much into the gemstore over the years on account upgrades, keys, cosmetics, toys etc.. and that's just Gw2, I played Gw1 too for many years and invested a bit in that game as well.I think i've payed my fair share is all im saying there, so I think i've earned the status of longtime paying customer of this franchise.. so any weight that has to support my above statements please add it.

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As a player that played from release until end of 2013 returning June 2019 (in between a loooon break) I can't say I'm bothered by the fact that I had to pay for the living world seasons.

People that played (logged in) during their release got them for free. But that's probably all those players that gave feedback (+ bug reports) back then. Also I guess most played actively and bought the later expansions at full price while I got my PoF when it was on sale a few weeks ago (incluging HoT for free).

Just one thing: I'm in S3 now and it feels a lot better than S2 (even better than HoT). Yeah: Gameplay-wise the HoT maps were more interesting and bigger. But I like the unique/different and small LS3 maps. Also the story.

LS2 basically felt less interesting cause it only added 2 new maps and stuff to the existing core maps. (My guess is they wanted do to some cheap to produce stuff to feed to the players while they had to wait for HoT - when other parts of the staff were secretly busy with HoT back then.)

Please make the price for LS2 a bit lower than for the other seasons that also add new mapgs. (LS2 even the map does not need you to buy the story package. Core game is enough.)

Well for me it was cheap since I bougth everyting on sale. Season 3 and 4 were on sale recently and it was even more than 50 percent and not only 30 percent for me. But for new players starting when there is not a sale it might help. They can have it cheaper until HoT and afterwards it will get better (but cost a bit more) but they might be "hooked" by then when the core story (after which they need to decide if they should buy season 2) is not enough yet to make them want to buy more.

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What the OP does not seem to realize is that the living world is actually free, only have to log in while active to get it free. To new players though or those who play off and on logging on months or years later they do not get the living world free. Living world started out as exactly as it sounds new things would happen every day not to be repeated thats why season 1 is not available. Even if you play the free version of the game and are logged in while any living story is active you get that one too free, after getting the expansions.

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@"gravekeeper.8352" said:Just recently came to Guild Wars 2 and was very annoyed for buying game + expansions and still not having access to story content. It's not clear for a new customer and it really looked like I'd get all game content by buying base game + expansions...

I'm sorry, but it's not clear just how old a player you are. You said you bought the base game in 2013 but here you said you came to GW2 recently. If you bought the game that long ago and also bought the expansions separately, than it's your own fault that you missed the Living World releases. Definitely not ANet's. I mean you must have played a little to know about the LW episodes... If not, then it's really only an "oopsie" on your part. Deal with it.

And don't defend your position by projecting your issue onto new players, which you say you are not.The game costs $30. Add another $35 (on full price) and you get ALL the Living World episodes as well. $65 for all the content a game without subscription fee has to offer. Old players, like myself, payed double that amount on average for the main releases. I think it's perfectly fair.And the gem store aspect... Yeah, it's mainly for convenience and cosmetic items. But isn't it nice to have an alternative to buy LW content for in-game gold? ANet aren't forcing you to spend real money on them, you can have them by playing the game. Talk about paywalls...

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@MikeG.6389 said:

@"gravekeeper.8352" said:Just recently came to Guild Wars 2 and was very annoyed for buying game + expansions and still not having access to story content. It's not clear for a new customer and it really looked like I'd get all game content by buying base game + expansions...

I'm sorry, but it's not clear just how old a player you are. You said you bought the base game in 2013 but here you said you came to GW2 recently. If you bought the game that long ago and also bought the expansions separately, than it's your own fault that you missed the Living World releases. Definitely not ANet's. I mean you must have played a little to know about the LW episodes... If not, then it's really only an "oopsie" on your part. Deal with it.

And don't defend your position by projecting your issue onto new players, which you say you are not.The game costs $30. Add another $35 (on full price) and you get ALL the Living World episodes as well. $65 for all the content a game without subscription fee has to offer. Old players, like myself, payed double that amount on average for the main releases. I think it's perfectly fair.And the gem store aspect... Yeah, it's mainly for convenience and cosmetic items. But isn't it nice to have an alternative to buy LW content for in-game gold? ANet aren't forcing you to spend real money on them, you can have them by playing the game. Talk about paywalls...

Bought the game when it launched, played for a few weeks and never touched it again until very recently. RL got in the way, and I forgot everything I learned in those few weeks during these 6~7 that passed. Not that hard to understand, is it?

Also, why so aggressive? As a fellow player, for what reason on Tyria would you be against ANet opening Living World to everyone? Why would ANYONE be against this? Don't tell me you care for ANet's finances, cuz they surely are not in need with all the whales buying skins and whatnot. The only other reason I can imagine is that you have access to all of them and want to be in a 'elite Living World club' or something. Why would any player be against having access to all of them and giving access to other players who already paid full price for full game content?

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Full price for me was not $30 for two expansion packs lol! New players get both expansions for a great price. LW episodes don't need to be on sale as well though they have been. I agree it could be made more clear that the two expansions do not include all off the game's expanded content but the current prices are beyond fair.

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@gravekeeper.8352 said:

@gravekeeper.8352 said:Just recently came to Guild Wars 2 and was very annoyed for buying game + expansions and still not having access to story content. It's not clear for a new customer and it really looked like I'd get all game content by buying base game + expansions...

I'm sorry, but it's not clear just how old a player you are. You said you bought the base game in 2013 but here you said you came to GW2 recently. If you bought the game that long ago and also bought the expansions separately, than it's your own fault that you missed the Living World releases. Definitely not ANet's. I mean you must have played a little to know about the LW episodes... If not, then it's really only an "oopsie" on your part. Deal with it.

And don't defend your position by projecting your issue onto new players, which you say you are not.The game costs $30. Add another $35 (on full price) and you get ALL the Living World episodes as well. $65 for all the content a game without subscription fee has to offer. Old players, like myself, payed double that amount on average for the main releases. I think it's perfectly fair.And the gem store aspect... Yeah, it's mainly for convenience and cosmetic items. But isn't it nice to have an alternative to buy LW content for in-game gold? ANet aren't forcing you to spend real money on them, you can have them by playing the game. Talk about paywalls...

Bought the game when it launched, played for a few weeks and never touched it again until very recently. RL got in the way, and I forgot everything I learned in those few weeks during these 6~7 that passed. Not that hard to understand, is it?

Also, why so aggressive? As a fellow player, for what reason on Tyria would you be against ANet opening Living World to everyone? Why would ANYONE be against this? Don't tell me you care for ANet's finances, cuz they surely are not in need with all the whales buying skins and whatnot. The only other reason I can imagine is that you have access to all of them and want to be in a 'elite Living World club' or something. Why would any player be against having access to all of them and giving access to other players who already paid full price for full game content?

Again, you are using new players as tools to get your point across.Again, $65 for the full game, bells and whistles and without a subscription fee. What other game offers at least the same amount of content with the same conditions? You seem to be upset because you missed out on the free updates when it was all in your hands to get them. Maybe you need some time to get over it, which I understand.

The fact remains: you missed the free updates, now you have to buy them. Just like any of us. I missed a few episodes, too, when I took a break from the game. I paid the 200 gems per episode converting in game gold and didn't complain. Especially not using new players as the means to justify my disgruntlement over the price.

I don't care about ANet's finances, even less than you do. Apparently you seem to know that they are doing well on the gem store. It may be so, but I have no way of knowing that and it's not my business, either. I stated my points strictly from a customer's point of view. My attitude is the manifestation of trying to understand your position and failing to see validity in them. If it came across as aggressive and it upset you, I apologise.

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@MikeG.6389 said:Again, you are using new players as tools to get your point across.Again, $65 for the full game, bells and whistles and without a subscription fee. What other game offers at least the same amount of content with the same conditions?

No other game I guess, that's why many of us are playing Guild Wars 2, right? Don't see your point. I'm not complaining about the price paid for the full game. Hell, they could charge even more if they wanted, as long as people who bought the full game got access to full story content.

@MikeG.6389 said:You seem to be upset because you missed out on the free updates when it was all in your hands to get them. Maybe you need some time to get over it, which I understand.

That's not the case, don't jump into conclusions based on words I didn't write. I'm not upset because I "missed out on the free updates". I'm upset because ANet advertises an expansion package for the full game, I bought said expansion pack which would give me the full game and I still don't have access to A LOT of story content. It's not a simple instance, or some skin packs or something. It's STORY content that's being paywalled from new players who already paid for the full game.

@MikeG.6389 said:The fact remains: you missed the free updates, now you have to buy them. Just like any of us. I missed a few episodes, too, when I took a break from the game. I paid the 200 gems per episode converting in game gold and didn't complain. Especially not using new players as the means to justify my disgruntlement over the price.

Ah so I was right. You are against ANet opening LW seasons for everyone because you indeed paid for some of them. What if they gave back the Gems to you and everyone else spent on Living world? Would you still be against?

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@gravekeeper.8352 said:

@MikeG.6389 said:Again, you are using new players as tools to get your point across.Again, $65 for the full game, bells and whistles and without a subscription fee. What other game offers at least the same amount of content with the same conditions?

No other game I guess, that's why many of us are playing Guild Wars 2, right? Don't see your point. I'm not complaining about the price paid for the full game. Hell, they could charge even more if they wanted, as long as people who bought the full game got access to full story content.

You misunderstood me: $30 for the game and expansions + $35 for the past LW seasons. There. Now you have access to the full story content. And at a great price, too. Even better, if you wait until the Seasons go on sale in the Gem Store, as they did just recently.If you buy LW with in-game gold it's currently about 75 gold an episode and suddenly the game only costs 30 bucks and some play time. How much cheaper do you want them to sell their work spanning over a decade now?

@MikeG.6389 said:You seem to be upset because you missed out on the free updates when it was all in your hands to get them. Maybe you need some time to get over it, which I understand.

That's not the case, don't jump into conclusions based on words I didn't write. I'm not upset because I "missed out on the free updates". I'm upset because ANet advertises an expansion package for the full game, I bought said expansion pack which would give me the full game and I still don't have access to A LOT of
story
content. It's not a simple instance, or some skin packs or something. It's STORY content that's being paywalled from new players who already paid for the full game.

Living World episodes were free during their launch. You had an account already, you just needed to log in every 2-3- months or so. Just log in. Nothing else. You missed that. And again, you are using new players as your reasoning. See above why new players are just fine.

@MikeG.6389 said:The fact remains: you missed the free updates, now you have to buy them. Just like any of us. I missed a few episodes, too, when I took a break from the game. I paid the 200 gems per episode converting in game gold and didn't complain. Especially not using new players as the means to justify my disgruntlement over the price.

Ah so I was right. You are against ANet opening LW seasons for everyone because you indeed paid for some of them. What if they gave back the Gems to you and everyone else spent on Living world? Would you still be against?

I don't dwell on past expenditures, especially virtual ones. So, yes. Yes I would.

What I know so far:

  • You bought the game way back when, but didn't play it.
  • You bought the expansions recently.
  • You realised how Living World operates, which has been the same business model since Season 2, but anyway...
  • You think you are entitled to that content based on the fact that you bought the game at full price.
  • New players... Well, you got me here. I don't know how they fit into your experience. The game is cheaper than ever. See all above why. That's why I think this is all because you are upset you didn't get the the LW episodes free.

What did I miss?

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I don't see anywhere on the purchase page where it says buying Path of Fire will give you all content in the game.It specifically states you will get Path of Fire, Heart of Thorns (free) and Living World: The Icebrood Saga.And that's what you get. No mention of Living World: Seasons 1 - 4, or even Living World: Seasons 2 - 4.

Now, that may be confusing, but, again, no statement that all available content (full game) is included. (They don't even mention Core/Vanilla Guild Wars 2.)

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As a player who got access to all living story and never paid for it, i agree that the old living story should come with the expansion packs or at least be cheap. It would have been better if heart of thorns would still cost 10-15$ instead of free and u get the living story season 2 with it. Path of fire should have included season 3 instead of heart of thorns, season 4 should still cost money, and same for seadon 5, but when the xpac comes they should be part of it. Also, due to the story structure, xpacs should require previous xpacs. Otherwise the chronology is ruined. Placing season 1 in season 5 is a disgrace. Srsly, just put it in season1. The maps are allready changed, why not put the tower there, why is it in fractals? U think that black spot is better? Its not as if u returned the map to it's original state

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@Thenme.6491 said:As a player who got access to all living story and never paid for it, i agree that the old living story should come with the expansion packs or at least be cheap. It would have been better if heart of thorns would still cost 10-15$ instead of free and u get the living story season 2 with it. Path of fire should have included season 3 instead of heart of thorns, season 4 should still cost money, and same for seadon 5, but when the xpac comes they should be part of it. Also, due to the story structure, xpacs should require previous xpacs. Otherwise the chronology is ruined. Placing season 1 in season 5 is a disgrace. Srsly, just put it in season1. The maps are allready changed, why not put the tower there, why is it in fractals? U think that black spot is better? Its not as if u returned the map to it's original state

After all that you will end up with a price that is right about the current price of the whole game with all past LW seasons included, which you can still cut in half if you buy the LW episodes with gems converted from in-game gold.

Also, it's not season 1. It's some instances from season 1. Practically no story is given in them, they are just some of the instances with the final confrontations of the releases they were originally a part of. Wouldn't make much sense in the correct place unless they bring the whole season back. I argue that they don't make much sense now, if you are a new player who doesn't know the context. That summary in the story journal doesn't really cut it.

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@MikeG.6389 said:

@"Thenme.6491" said:As a player who got access to all living story and never paid for it, i agree that the old living story should come with the expansion packs or at least be cheap. It would have been better if heart of thorns would still cost 10-15$ instead of free and u get the living story season 2 with it. Path of fire should have included season 3 instead of heart of thorns, season 4 should still cost money, and same for seadon 5, but when the xpac comes they should be part of it. Also, due to the story structure, xpacs should require previous xpacs. Otherwise the chronology is ruined. Placing season 1 in season 5 is a disgrace. Srsly, just put it in season1. The maps are allready changed, why not put the tower there, why is it in fractals? U think that black spot is better? Its not as if u returned the map to it's original state

After all that you will end up with a price that is right about the current price of the whole game with all past LW seasons included, which you can still cut in half if you buy the LW episodes with gems converted from in-game gold.

You are missing the point of this thread. The price is not the problem, the confusion of the proper chronological order of the story through all the LWs and expansions for new player is. And this is a very common complaint in the "player helping players" forum section.Like I mentioned before, when I bought the game after Pof, if I knew how this works I would actually spend more from the start (would buy ultimate for the gems) than I did. The money is not a problem, you get a lot for it.

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@Cuks.8241 said:

@"Thenme.6491" said:As a player who got access to all living story and never paid for it, i agree that the old living story should come with the expansion packs or at least be cheap. It would have been better if heart of thorns would still cost 10-15$ instead of free and u get the living story season 2 with it. Path of fire should have included season 3 instead of heart of thorns, season 4 should still cost money, and same for seadon 5, but when the xpac comes they should be part of it. Also, due to the story structure, xpacs should require previous xpacs. Otherwise the chronology is ruined. Placing season 1 in season 5 is a disgrace. Srsly, just put it in season1. The maps are allready changed, why not put the tower there, why is it in fractals? U think that black spot is better? Its not as if u returned the map to it's original state

After all that you will end up with a price that is right about the current price of the whole game with all past LW seasons included, which you can still cut in half if you buy the LW episodes with gems converted from in-game gold.

You are missing the point of this thread. The price is not the problem, the confusion of the proper chronological order of the story through all the LWs and expansions for new player is. And this is a very common complaint in the "player helping players" forum section.Like I mentioned before, when I bought the game after Pof, if I knew how this works I would actually spend more from the start (would buy ultimate for the gems) than I did. The money is not a problem, you get a lot for it.

I can't argue against the lack of communication about how story content availability fits ANet's business model. My line of thinking revolved around the pricing only, thanks to user gravedigger who - fitting to their name - necrod the thread to complain about exactly and only that.

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@Teratus.2859 said:And this is exactly what i've been warning about for years.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this, I have pointed out this major flaw in living world for many years as well as the reality that it gets worse and worse the more living world chaptors are introduced to the game.

Bringing new players to the game is all well and good but if they cannot complete the main game story despite buying both expansions then there is a serious problem there.Granted Anet have been pretty generous with expansions overall, atm you buy PoF and get full game access and HoT for free which is awesome.But you need that living world to fill in a lot of story gaps and frankly there is so much of it now that price tag is pretty bloated.Yes you can farm in game gold and buy them that way but that's a long and tedious process..

I've said for years that if you buy the special editions of expansions then they should come with the previous season of living world as a bonus.Likewise we need more living world season bundle discounts and more so.. a reasonable heads up on when that is due to happen so people have time to put money aside to buy them.It is infuriating when something you really want goes on sale in the store and you can't afford it.. specially when if you had known it was coming you could have put some money aside for it.. I recently went through this with character slots myself and missed the sale only to buy one shortly after for full price.

Living world is a big part of this game so it needs to be made easier to obtian for newer players who missed it, otherwise I see it as more of a reason for new players not to bother with this game and that's just unfortunate and I don't want anyone to feel that way about one of my favourite games.

I am a Gw2 Collectors owner as well as an owner of both HoT and PoF ultimate editions and will be adding Expansion 3's ultimate edition to this collection as well.I've played the game since Beta and been present for all the free living world over the last 8 years and i've put god knows how much into the gemstore over the years on account upgrades, keys, cosmetics, toys etc.. and that's just Gw2, I played Gw1 too for many years and invested a bit in that game as well.I think i've payed my fair share is all im saying there, so I think i've earned the status of longtime paying customer of this franchise.. so any weight that has to support my above statements please add it.

Except that you can complete the main game's story w/out spending a dime now, since it's F2P. The main game story ends at Zhaitan, after all, and you're not required to buy anything. But, let's look at this from my perspective: I am relatively new. I missed LS 1, 2 and 3. I got LS 4 for free, as I was actively playing when it released. Guess what? I harbor no resentment, or ill will. Just like I don't expect I should be able to get any rewards that were offered for special promotions for the time I wasn't here. I wasn't here, and I shouldn't get it any differently than anyone else did. If someone that was playing somehow missed a window, and had to buy content, then it shouldn't be any different for me, and it shouldn't be any different for someone that starts tomorrow.

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