Official Mount Adoption Feedback Thread [merged]

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

@Just a flesh wound.3589 said:

@Ayumi Spender.1082 said:

@"Omar Aschi Popp.7496" said:You guys are talking about a group of people who tried to sneak in privateer weapons and then was like "ohjhh, oh no we're not doing it like this, this is a one time thing to show you something special!".

Until I see internal memos detailing that in writing before they released it, I will not believe it was anything but backpedaling and saving face after being caught.

Are you guys legitimate like unawares that this is standard procedure? Don't be naiive.

Also Anet has done nothing wrong here. Truly we are to blame for showing them, by the numbers, that we love gambling.

STOP BLAMING ANET

Please tell me about the privateer weapons as I don't even know what those are, lol.

The

Privateer weapons

were account bound only and bought with Black Lion tickets, which meant you couldn’t buy them off the trading post. You had to get keys to open up Black Lion chests. When they were added to the game people were unhappy about the account bound, no trading post features.

Ouch, and you said almost got away with it.Wonder how these mounts will turn out.

Something tells me it won't change, though.

[Crossaber.8934]

I don't mind this kind of lucky draw, mount is just a transportation to me, nothing more, nothing less, i can live with the default skin, its free.

[TheUndefined.1720]

@DragonflyDusk.6582 said:If these were individually sold and not random I might agree with you, but if you have to pay $100+ dollars when you only want two or three of these skins but can not control what you get otherwise, it's a beyond terrible deal. And they are ABSOLUTELY gambling, unless you buy the full pack.

Saying it isn't nearly as bad as other games doesn't make it good at all. That only emphasizes how terrible of a problem this is in the industry.

Thanks for your opinion! Having played ESO, Blade and Soul, and a few other games, including GW2 with the Black Lion Chests, I don't see how a chance in 30 is worse than a chance in... hundreds lol. Yes, the price overall is pretty darn expensive. Their decision to set you up to pay a little for a chance or pay a lot for a guarantee is a choice they made. Still, with that choice I think for the price, it is really cheap. If you want only 1-2 skins, then 40-80$ compared to 120$ is definitely expensive, but it's expensive in general. 30 skins vs 4-8 skins is still a better bargain, imo.

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

It's a bad deal when I loathe the look of over 90% of them.For people who want all? Not a bad deal. Especially when they can get them all in one bulk on a discount.

For those that only want a very few, and at least the NON FLASHY ONES, yes.. it's a very very horrible deal.

Is the 2000 Mecha Goat/Ram a good deal too? That one has no RNG to it.

[Swagger.1459]

@Natto.5819 said:

@Swagger.1459 said:

That's a pretty weak argument. So would you like every item in-game handed to you for free so anet values your time more?

Either given free, or put somewhere we can earn it. So with these new mount skins, sure sell them in a Loot Crate, but give us players an alternative way to get them. And that way would be through things like PvP or WvW rewards tracks. But we know Anet won't do that. So if RNG is the wave of the future, then add in P2W to complete the transformation!

You can totally earn these mount skins for free by exchanging your gold for gems... See how super nice anet is for giving you that option?

[Vadeil.3924]

@TheUndefined.1720 said:

Thanks for the input. For me personally, I don't find the mount package a price vs gambling argument, since you'll get the skin you want plus 30 others. I think the real argument here is, quantity vs quality. I haven't bought it yet, but I'm leaning more so on buying it, b/c again I think it's a really nice deal. However, the question I pose to myself is 120$ for 30 unique skins a good deal compared with a 1200 gem purchase of all of the Wintersday skins / Lunar Skins. The more narrowed / focused skins will look better, b/c they're narrowed and focused lol. They're themed in other words. However, the quantity of 30 skins at only 4$ each is a bargain and there are at least 18 skins I counted on preview alone I liked, while the rest I've already seen with different dyes to be really appealing.

Honestly I feel all the skins are worth at lest 4$. And as a person who bought every glider when they came out i knew if they were released one by one in the store I would have bought them as long as they were under 1k gems each. So I got them all....

[DragonflyDusk.6582]

I wouldn't say I'm angry at all. I am- however- extremely disappointed. I don't have a hundred dollars to drop to guarantee getting a skin or two that I want out of this set, and voting with my wallet is pointless when you have a few people willing to chunk hundreds at these packs.

My luck with drops in this game has always been awful. There is no way I'm throwing money down the drain for a chance at one of the mount skins I want when I very likely won't get it... My plan was to drop a little bit of money this paycheck towards the gemstore to support the game, but this is downright disheartening.

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

@Swagger.1459 said:

@Natto.5819 said:

@Swagger.1459 said:

That's a pretty weak argument. So would you like every item in-game handed to you for free so anet values your time more?

Either given free, or put somewhere we can earn it. So with these new mount skins, sure sell them in a Loot Crate, but give us players an alternative way to get them. And that way would be through things like PvP or WvW rewards tracks. But we know Anet won't do that. So if RNG is the wave of the future, then add in P2W to complete the transformation!

You can totally earn these mount skins for free by exchanging your gold for gems... See how super nice anet is for giving you that option?

So nice that I heard it's like almost 4000 gold. Excluding the goat/ram I think.

[MrGhosty.4296]

I think the point that you might be missing is that most people don't want to own every single mount skin. This trend for the entire gaming industry to try and bolster their finances via loot box mechanics is worrying.

There are certainly many MMOs out there that charge more, to take one of your examples (elder scrolls online) They charge an ungodly sum for a mount that might as well be like those silly horse/rider costumes you can buy for halloween. The big thing for me personally is that I have always thought those mounts were overpriced and at the end of the day I stopped playing the game due to how they handled their cash shop.

As I personally feel, and have seen the sentiment echoed, there is no issue with the cash shop nor the prices of the mounts themselves. The issue is that rather than let the consumer choose which mounts they would like to purchase or even the type of mount skin they would like to purchase, we are forced to a roll of the dice. The 30 pack was bound to be expensive and I don't personally mind they made the option available. What makes it unseemly is that remains the only way to ensure you get the skin you want. The way it is all setup feels deeply predatory and cynical which are two attributes I have never previously ascribed to Anet, so I hope they can fix this error before any significant damage is done.

[Halan.8951]

..........

[Fallesafe.5932]

@Freakshow.1809 said:I'm one of those no lifers that drops big money each payday on GW2. Out of slight embarrassment I won't mention the amount i've dropped since release but it's a lot to say the least.Anet, I still have some faith in you to come around. You are usually very good about communication with the community and making changes based on feedback. But I need to ask...

Did you really think players would be okay with this? I mean I know you guys had meeting discussing this before it's implementation. Did anyone ever bring up...

"Do you think the majority players will be okay with this?""Are you sure this doesn't seem like we're taking advantage of their support?""Is this addition going to make the game better for the community or worse?"

I'm personally struggling to understand why you guys choose to go in this direction. If find it difficult that you would choose to go with this kind of marketing knowing your reputation for not wanting to be apart of the norm. Instead of being a WoW copy cat, you chose to try to be your own game. Instead of trying to take the ideas of other games in the genre you tried to come up with your own, very unique way. Your mounts are like nothing else any other game has to offer, no just a mere speed boost but unique and adds to core gameplay.

What changed Anet? Why Are you suddenly turning away from your core defining unique gameplay philosophies to follow this Lootbox Trend? You were so much better than that. What happened?

Because they understand their players very well. If 100 people are in the market for these skins, then:

-50 will just buy them and not care.-30 will buy them with some apprehension.-10 will scream bloody murder, and buy them anyway.-8 will vow to quit, but come back in a week, and buy them.-and 2 will actually boycott the gem-store or quit.

So, they made a great decision here.

[Samnang.1879]

how dare they try to make money to fund their staffs and resources

[nottsgman.8206]

thing is 'valuable' is a point of view. for example, I wouldn't pay $4 for any of the effect riddled skins (they are trash to me, honestly), and definitely not $20-40, wheras the more simple skins I'd be more willing to pay for. the entire package is in no way worth $120 to me, unfortunately.

now, if they separated the simpler skins into a package I'd be way more interested.

[Coronit.9432]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@DakotaCoty.5721 said:The Black Lion Stables are pleased to open their doors and offer new mount adoption licenses. Each license will allow you to claim a random mount skin from the Black Lion Stables, and they are available in the Style category of the Gem Store for 400 gems each.

If this trend continues I won't fund this game anymore, simple as that. This is stupid.

The math:400 * 31 = 12,400 gems.

How is that different from spending 100 gems for a chance at an exclusive dye]? Or 80 gems (in bulks) for BL keys, with a random chance of skins? Like any lotto, play if you think you'll get lucky, otherwise hang tight and buy the specific skin(s) you want when they show up at a discount later.

You really don´t know the difference? Seriously?Ok, let me explain it.Every dye you get out of the exclusive dye packs can be bought DIRECTLY from the TP. You can get exactly the dye you want without getting gamble addicted (huge problem in gaming community with the increasing amount of RNG).BL key are problematic to begin with. A lot of stuff can be bought from the TP and other stuff can be generated over time (ticket scraps). The unique skins they implemented in the last year are a new way they went which led us to today. Its bad because you can´t buy them from the TP by people that got them, but don´t want them. Furthermore you have the chance to get them ingame as rewards. I got the hydra staff last week from the weekly key farm. Its a nice skin (far better than most ingame rewards staffs -> another problem) but I would glady sell or even gift it to someone who really wants it. But I can´t because of the new way anet is going.

The amount skin can´t be bought directly. Its RNG and it can happen you would need to pay the full 120euros to get exactly the skin you want. You can´t buy it from someone who doesn´t want it.

In short, BL key weren´t as terrible as the new aquisition method until lately which most players don´t like. And dyes are completely available to be purchased directly.RL lottery is limited to be over 18 btw. This game is open for 12 year old. Young people are easily to get addicted. Can´t help myself to hate any company that exploits that!

And they want us to promote the game...

[troops.8276]

@Swagger.1459 said:

@troops.8276 said:

@Swagger.1459 said:We are not entitled to anything for FREE, but we do get a ton of FREE updates to the game. You want FREE optional cosmetic items that have zero impact on gameplay? Exchange your in-game gold and get them for FREE.

Don't know where you are drawing the parallel of vanity items to "p2w" items. Sad.

Customization

is

a part of the gameplay to many, as in how people play the game, or spend their time.The industry recognised this a while back and have been making big money off of it ever since. Its offered as a feature, a selling point, by all the mmo's and many other genres on the market.Features, selling points, like QoL, Content and Customization are then deliberately time gated and made available through a pay wall. On top of that various manipulative marketing ploys are used to encourage sales. Some are getting too close to gambling for many.

Now you know.

EDIT: If you genuinely had not realised that this is what is going on then you are one of the simple souls others here are concerned will be exploited due to your naivety.

You're really grasping at straws to make points.

Optional skins are for aesthetic purposes only. Different skins will not help a player beat any meta events or defeat a raid boss faster than any other player... Am I wrong, or am I just I'm brainwashed due to anet exploiting my naivety? lol

"Paywall"? That's funny considering all players have been given a free path to every item on the gemstore... PLUS free monthly access to the game... That's beyond a fair business model.

You are still defining what you think people should be doing in game. How does defeating a raid boss faster than someone else mean you've done what you aimed to do if you weren't aiming to be the fastest? If you only wanted to get gold to buy, or to loot directly, a cosmetic item then getting the cosmetic item is the game. That's all this game really is. Get the gear to beat the boss to get the gear to beat the boss to get the gear to farm the gold to get the gear to farm the gold to get the cosmetic item you liked the look off.Yes paywall and time gating go hand in hand.The business models of mmo's are clear. Keep people playing to keep them paying. It's hardly some unheard of concept. If full customization was not an important part of how people play the game(s) and completely irrelevant then why isn't it just given away for free at the beginning? How can it be worth so much money to a company? Would there be no drop in player numbers and revenue if Anet removed all individual aesthetic features from the game?"Plus free monthly access". It'd only be free if Anet normally charged monthly access. And we get free access to the cash shop too! Funny that.

[TheUndefined.1720]

@MrGhosty.4296 said:I think the point that you might be missing is that most people don't want to own every single mount skin. This trend for the entire gaming industry to try and bolster their finances via loot box mechanics is worrying.

There are certainly many MMOs out there that charge more, to take one of your examples (elder scrolls online) They charge an ungodly sum for a mount that might as well be like those silly horse/rider costumes you can buy for halloween. The big thing for me personally is that I have always thought those mounts were overpriced and at the end of the day I stopped playing the game due to how they handled their cash shop.

As I personally feel, and have seen the sentiment echoed, there is no issue with the cash shop nor the prices of the mounts themselves. The issue is that rather than let the consumer choose which mounts they would like to purchase or even the type of mount skin they would like to purchase, we are forced to a roll of the dice. The 30 pack was bound to be expensive and I don't personally mind they made the option available. What makes it unseemly is that remains the only way to ensure you get the skin you want. The way it is all setup feels deeply predatory and cynical which are two attributes I have never previously ascribed to Anet, so I hope they can fix this error before any significant damage is done.

Thanks so much for the well thought response, as many others here! I definitely agree that for those wanting just 1 or 2 it is steep, it's steep if you want 30. However, I still think it's a good price for the quantity. If you want quality, I would say, go for the more focused themed mount skins that will definitely be coming out in the future. I'm positive the Wintersday theme will look way better than Cosmos owl lol. Still, for those that have their hearts set on cosmos owl, I think the whole picture isn't cynical. It would be cynical if it was bottomless like the chests and other true loot boxes. I think 1 in 30 is a really good chance, considering the chances get even better with more purchases while with lootboxes the chances are the same no matter what (2 mount skins takes 2 out of the 30 pool giving it a 1 in 28). It's better than 1 in hundreds every single time.

I'm definitely not wanting to try to change anyone's opinion or say mine is better than others. I totally understand and agree with the argument. I also think overall the deal is pretty good for what your getting. I think coming to the table with looking at the package with what you WANT vs what you actual GET is where most people are upset. I just want to try to shed some light on the actual value vs narrowing it down to what you're not getting. Both arguments are pretty invaluable when looking at it as a whole. :)

[stone cold.8609]

Agree with the OP as well. There are a couple of mounts that I would pay for, but I will not buy any of them because of the locking them behind an RNG gambling adoption license scheme. Count me as another player disappointed by this.

[Sillytune.1580]

@TheUndefined.1720 said:

@Vyrulisse.1246 said:No it's a bad deal. Half of these aren't worth $5 but you're forced to wade through the garbage in the hopes you get what you want. By the time most people do get that skin they really wanted they've spent far more than they are truly worth. It's a scam, all lootboxes are scams.

Hey thanks for the response! I definitely see how some people could view the skins as worth more than others, but imo, that kind of proves my point. There are skins in the package that are obviously incredibly valuable. To have them all based at 4$ each is a really nice way to go about it. I personally have never seen any mount skin priced at 4$, no matter how basic, I think the cheapest is maybe 10$. So in that, I'd say you're still getting a deal. :)

On a scale of one to infinity - how much fucking retarded do you have to be to state, that his comment proves your point -

Imo - thanks for the response! -

The only skins that are valuable there depend on a value of a personal opinion, for example for me only 4 mount skins in that whole package are worth 800gems eachWhile every single other one 's worth about 400gems.However that opinion changes - again depending on a person and what they like or dislike -

No - No, the 4$ each is not a "really nice way to go about it" - when the system is the definition of fucking bullshit and random.

• I wouldn't have any issues with this sort of transaction -
• If the pass was a catalogue from which you can choose to which mount do you want.

Any MMO that has a RNG system when it comes to obtaining "skins" or what not via $ will always be shat upon by the users, because it is g r e e d y as fuck, to do such a thing.

• I 'd prefer if the game had a monthly subscription instead of that bullshit, at least i'd know for what i was paying for.

Retards like you, and possibly god knows what amount of reddit cunts, that'll reply to this comment in passive-aggressive manner are the reason of what's wrong with this game, and posts like this, with you OP on top, 's the biggest example.

[Haishao.6851]

like ayumi said, it's bad unless you want them all.It's not as bad as it could have been, but comparing with worst only gets you lower every time.

[DietPepsi.4371]

I do believe they did this with minis right? After the initial burst of release sales went down, they then began releasing individual minis for higher prices.I'm totally for paying more for only the skins I want, so I don't have a bunch of skins I don't want cluttering up my account wardrobe, and so I pay less overall to get the skins I only want.

It's come to my realisation as well that the skins are mostly just that; skin textures. Different flavours of existing models for the mounts. The only model that is completely unique is the Forged sand doggo, which comes a-la-carte. If they do it where unique models are sold a-la-carte, and then different skins of that model are RNG, I don't actually mind that idea that much.

[Adry.7512]

It's highly distasteful. See arenanet you guys had a marketing technique where you would put out nice skins and leave the super cool skins for one week throughout the year. THAT was a good technique and it worked. While the new technique isn't awful because there are NO repeated skins, it is distasteful. It is NOT P2W at all and it is in NO WAY mandatory to get ANY skins, but it is rather eh if you know what I mean. Now if you would have separated the licenses based per mount, then the whiplash wouldn't have been this hard from the community. On the other hand, people need to relax and stop reacting as if it's a big deal, GW2 isn't p2p so expect cosmetic cash cows to be a thing.

Edit: try to understand, if you want even better quality expacs and living stories and extra teams working on community demands, then THIS is a must. As a community it's time people stop overreacting and adopt realistic expectations as rational adults/teens (excluding children of course). We make demands, then expect fair cash cows every now and then. As long as they don't make everything a cosmetic gen item, then it's fine. Arenanet needs to maintain a responsible balance between what's too much, and what is fair. If arenanet overdoes it, then it will be a problem.

For everyone confusing skins for mounts. If anet ever sold mounts in gem stores, that's when the community should be alarmed!

[Beshbaliq.3724]

First and foremost: I agree. It's not a bad deal.

From my point of view, each of these skins had to be worked on. Some longer than others, that's for sure. Seeing all the effects (visual and sound effects, mind you) they added to some of them just reinforces this. Now I know lots of people tend to forget this, but the people who recolored the "simple" skins had to do that, too. Even if the easy ones took only 10 mins each, the special ones like Lightning/Ice/Fire/Stars will have taken a lot longer than that. And these people sure as hell didn't do it for fun, kicks or free. They want to get paid for it. That's a fact. So if I can get 30 Skins total or 5 for each mount for 120 bucks, I'm in.

We've had lottery in Form of the BLC-Skins/Drops since this game launched and this "Gamble" here has way better odds of me getting what I want. 1/30 is pretty nice, especially if you consider that the odds only improve, since you can't get duplicates. You will get the skin you want at some point, even if you buy em one by one by exchanging gold to gems.

That couldn't be said for BLC-Skins. If you had really bad luck you could have opened hundreds of those and not get that Glider/Backpack-Combo or that Sword you so desperately wanted, without your chances of getting it improving with each chest you opened.

So while this may be a gamble, it's a pretty harmless one compared to what we have since launch.

Let's be honest, the only thing that freaks people out is the huge pricetag if you just buy the whole collection.

[TheUndefined.1720]

@Sillytune.1580 said:

@TheUndefined.1720 said:

@Vyrulisse.1246 said:No it's a bad deal. Half of these aren't worth $5 but you're forced to wade through the garbage in the hopes you get what you want. By the time most people do get that skin they really wanted they've spent far more than they are truly worth. It's a scam, all lootboxes are scams.

Hey thanks for the response! I definitely see how some people could view the skins as worth more than others, but imo, that kind of proves my point. There are skins in the package that are obviously incredibly valuable. To have them all based at 4$ each is a really nice way to go about it. I personally have never seen any mount skin priced at 4$, no matter how basic, I think the cheapest is maybe 10$. So in that, I'd say you're still getting a deal. :)

On a scale of one to infinity - how much kitten kitten do you have to be to state, that his comment proves your point -

Imo - thanks for the response! -

The only skins that are valuable there depend on a value of a personal opinion, for example for me only 4 mount skins in that whole package are worth 800gems eachWhile every single other one 's worth about 400gems.However that opinion changes - again depending on a person and what they like or dislike -

No - No, the 4$ each is not a "really nice way to go about it" - when the system is the definition of kitten kitten and random.

• I wouldn't have any issues with this sort of transaction -
• If the pass was a catalogue from which you can choose to which mount do you want.

Any MMO that has a RNG system when it comes to obtaining "skins" or what not via $ will always be kitten upon by the users, because it is g r e e d y as kitten, to do such a thing.

• I 'd prefer if the game had a monthly subscription instead of that kitten, at least i'd know for what i was paying for.

kitten like you, and possibly god knows what amount of reddit kitten, that'll reply to this comment in passive-aggressive manner are the reason of what's wrong with this game, and posts like this, with you OP on top, 's the biggest example.

First of all, I'm honestly sorry if my tone came out as passive agressive. I really don't mean to come off that way. I sincerely enjoy reading people's posts and input. I'm really sorry for possibly upsetting you, and I'm sorry if my points came across as anything other than just trying to have a discussion. I never mean to upset anyone, and I'm sorry for doing this regardless.

I only meant to point out that having skins that seem to be "flashier" than others proved that they should be more expensive and having them all at a base price is a nice way to go about it.

Again, I'm sorry for my tone having been poorly portrayed. I honestly don't know how else to convey what I want without saying, 'thank you.'

[Jasmine.8195]

Agreed. I don't spend a dime on Black LOL Box keys nor will I spend a dime on RNG Mount Skins. Just put them up and let us buy them - hey, you'll even get better metrics out of it this way .. "oh, 300% more people buying electric raptors - get the designers on more lightning skins!"

[StonedCat.3518]

Making desirable items loot-box-only is putting gambling in games - full stop. No it's not gambling according to the law, but I really hope it will be ruled as such in the near future. In the meantime anyone prone to gambling addiction should head for the door.

Whether you call this predatory or not depends on your perspective, but I'd call it such. I think the word is popular recently because of how many 2017 games have adopted loot boxes as a moneymaking strategy. What's really sad is that Guild Wars 2 started out as the "alternative" MMO with fresh new ideas. I guess the best they can muster now playing follow-the-leader to the likes of EA and Activision.