Official Mount Adoption Feedback Thread [merged]

[Pi Slinger.5801]

Just remove RNG from the Gemstore entirely. Whereas I completely ignore purchasing items with an RNG factor from the Gemstore, I would definitely purchase a lot of the items that have been included in the RNG items if sold in a non-RNG format. i.e. Balthazar's Regalia, Zaishen Helmet, Shadow Dyes, Zephyr Glider, etc. I very much doubt that I'm the only one in this camp.

Hypothetically, let's say you sell something RNG that only 5% of your player base will buy due to the fact that it's RNG. Let's be crazy and say that that 5% buys enough of the item to be like 20% of the player base buying the item once. But then let's say 50% or 60% of the player base would actually have paid for the item if it wasn't RNG. For this scenario, it's not hard to see that more money would be earned if the items weren't gated behind RNG.

Here's what we as a player base are seeing that is honestly disturbing us and make us question the integrity of ArenaNet:

• Mounts released with single-dye channel. Made to think that it was time/design constraint. Large number of mounts then sold less than 1.5 months later that look like the standard mounts, but with the 4 dye channels the originals should have had at release. And the cherry on top is that they're gated behind RNG.
• Increasing number of awesome skins being placed into BLC. They're account bound on acquire. Drop rate of items appears to have been made very small to exploit the hypothetical 5% in attempt to artificially boost sells to be like the 60% buying the item once. People would have definitely purchased these from Gemstore if not for RNG.
• Single mount skin sold for same price as account upgrades, almost the same price as even buying the game. Is ArenaNet saying that this one item has as much value as buying the game? Is it being sold at this price to make the RNG mount item not seem as bad by comparison?

ArenaNet is the company that sold us a game based on respecting a player's time. However, based on the RNG, I'm starting to feel as though they don't respect my money, which took time to earn.

Don't gate items behind any kind of RNG. It does a disservice to the game and impairs overall quality. If the item placed on the Gemstore is worth a player's money, then they will buy it. By artificially boosting sells to a subset gambling population, your sales number do not reflect the quality of the product being delivered, but rather the upward limit of your gambling population's wallets.

Let the quality of the product drive sales. Not desperate RNG purchases. Happy customers have looser wallets than those that feel cheated. If we can't trust the Gemstore for getting the items we want from it, then we'll inevitably stop using it.

[Oglaf.1074]

@Wolfheart.7483 said:This outrage would be a tad more justified if this adoption contract was going to be the absolute final and only way to acquire new mount skins which I seriously doubt it will be.

You can "seriously doubt it" all you want but that doesn't change the fact that, y'know, it is?

[Lambent.6375]

I posted this in the poll thread, but

I wouldn't mind the rng of it were split up by mount type.

Example: having a choice of whether you want to roll for a jackal, Griffin, raptor, etc.

[moonstarmac.4603]

I think being able to choose the skin or at least the mount type would be more appealing for these. I opened two and got one of the skins I wanted most, Starbound Griffon, right off the bat. The second was the Primal Hare, which isn't bad but, I didn't really care for getting a Springer skin. The one I want now is the Stardust Jackal.

So over all, they are a good idea. The implementation being completely RNG, not so much.

[Auralae.7482]

I am tired of RNG/loot boxes and bundles for the gem store. Issuing the mount skins like this just means I won't be spending my money. If they were individual purchases for a specific skin at reasonable prices (say 400-800 gems per), then that would be a different story.

[Taelac.7036]

I liked the way the Halloween skins were handled, and I was quite happy to drop gems on those. I would only have suggested that they also be available as individual skins for 400 gems each, along with the Halloween discount of 5-for-1600 gems.

I'm not liking how the stables have been deployed. I don't mind a "buy them all for a discount" option, but I think that not having a "buy them in groups of five for a discount" option was a mistake. I also think that RNG across all thirty skins (and presumably more later) is a mistake. I'd be slightly more likely to drop 400 gems on a random skin if I could at least select which mount I wanted to reskin. I'd be vastly more likely to drop 400 gems on a skin I could specifically choose.

I don't mind that ANet sometimes does some whale fishing. I get that it's part of the business model. What I do mind is how this feels as someone who will happily throw twenty dollars at the gem store when I have it, but who will probably never have a hundred and twenty to do so in a single month--I have to save up and do without other things to buy the expansions. And what it feels like is:

"Hey, if you have lots of disposable income, you can buy the whole lot for a steep discount!"

"Oh, can't afford to do that? Well then, we're going to charge you full price and we're not even going let you choose what you get. It's not like poor people deserve options or the same chance at a price break as people with money, right?"

Frankly, it feels bad enough that I don't anticipate spending any gems on any of these mount skins as things currently stand. I realize my twenty dollars every few months is peanuts, but if you want it, you have to not treat me like a Divinity's Reach orphan, hoping for a toy scepter skin and still expected to be grateful for another ugly wool hat.

[Cloud.7613]

@Wolfheart.7483 said:This outrage would be a tad more justified if this adoption contract was going to be the absolute final and only way to acquire new mount skins which i seriously doubt it will be.

This is entirely subjective. Right now, there are no ways other than the cash shop to obtain mount skins. Nothing that can be gained through game play (apart from gold wars 2), collections, achievements, raids, ect. The introduction of these mounts could have been done in a plethora of different ways, release them by mount, release them separately or over time in mini packs (reducing the odds, still bad IMO, but more palatable). Instead what they did was bulk every skin, good or bad in one loot table, KNOWING they haven't given anything but cash shop skins for mounts so far. That is questionable at best.

I understand that people will defend this practice or be nonchalant about how bad this was handled and i accept that. However, they handled this about as worse as they possibly could.

[Roadkill.2374]

Let me see...Nice skins you got there, it would be a shame if I would buy like a dozen new games for that price instead.

Honestly I don't know if i'm angry or just dissapointed anymore...

[Vagrant.7206]

Why introduce a gacha game into GW2? Like we don't already have issues with RNG?

[SmirkDog.3160]

@Roadkill.2374 said:Let me see...Nice skins you got there, it would be a shame if I would buy like a dozen new games for that price instead.

In fact, for the price of all 30 skins in that pack, you can buy HoT, PoF, and a whole new other game for the same amount. Funny how that is.

[Nero.7369]

Thank you that you dont brought skins for 400 gems per skin of your choice, so at least i will safe my money :tongue:Seriously, it just bullshit to have rng in there. And I wont support that specially not with buying all for 120€ to get that 3 three skins i like :lol:I could understand if ppl would get all currently and upcomming skins for that price tho.

But how can you even bring a package out that is more expensive than your expansions, its just hilarious.

[Ashamir.9574]

I'm a student. I'm poor. Still, Christmas is coming around.

For 25€ I could get 2000 gems. Or I could buy 2-3 books.

I will pay to get something I want. I'd buy a mount skin for 700-800 gems even. I will however not pay for the chance of getting a mount skin.

I don't gamble. So if the choice is between investing into rng or buying books, I'm gonna go to Amazon or my local bookstore and have fun there.

To be clear: I'd pay more than 400 gems for what I want. I'll pay 0 gems for rng.

[Vegeta.2563]

Bog Otter Aka Richie's (a current ArenaNet Partner) feedback about Mount Licenses

[Dezzie.5903]

I'm a returning player after several years away from the game so I'm not all that familiar with how common the use of lootboxes is in the game. I do know that other than the Black Lion Chests thus far the only RNG I've been exposed to in the Gem store have been the dyes. I'm not a fan of RNG lootboxes and rarely buy one. I know what I want and that's what I want to pay for. Same reason I don't buy blind boxes or subscribe to things like Loot Crate. So while I do find a couple of the skins something I would buy outright none are enough to get me to buy lootboxes or to spend $120 for the license to get a tonne of skins I don't care for.

[Wolfheart.7483]

@Oglaf.1074 said:

@Wolfheart.7483 said:This outrage would be a tad more justified if this adoption contract was going to be the absolute final and only way to acquire new mount skins which I seriously doubt it will be.

You can "seriously doubt it" all you want but that doesn't change the fact that, y'know, it is?

Obviously, y'know, I mean for the future, not just right this second. And, y'know, there were Halloween mount skins and the Reforged Warhound. So, y'know, the adoption contracts haven't actually bee the only way to get new mount skins. Y'know.

[loknica.6380]

Shame on you Anet.

[smsarasin.3468]

I already posted a lengthy response in another thread, so I'll summarize here...When shopping in the gem store, you have certain expectations. You are shopping for something specific. For instance, you find a cool new outfit, or a weapon skin, glider skin, tool, gizmo, or whatever and you purchase that item. And you're happy with your purchase. You are not at a county fair, plunking down some cash on a rigged game of chance.
Financially I am not able to afford a never ending supply of gems. I am lucky to afford maybe one or two gem cards a year, so i am very choosy about what I spend my money on. I would love to have some of these new mount skins, but I absolutely refuse to play a game of luck for the outside chance I might get the one I want. I don't gamble with my money. I would happily spend 400-500 gems on a mount of my choosing, but I will never spend my money on a lootbox chance.

So, if this is how outfits and mount skins are going to be handled in the future, I'm afraid that I will no longer be spending any of my limited disposable income in the game.

I am very disappointed that ANET is taking this path. There is no reason why they can't allow you to pick and choose the skins that you want to buy. All they would have to do is use a system like with the miniatures. You buy a claim ticket, and upon use you can select from a list of available mounts. You could even have multiple tiers. 400 gems for the basic skins, 550 for middle tier, and 750 for top tier. I would happily spend my gems on this... But not on RNG...

[SmirkDog.3160]

@Wolfheart.7483 said:Obviously, y'know, I mean for the future, not just right this second. And, y'know, there were Halloween mount skins and the Reforged Warhound. So, y'know, the adoption contracts haven't actually bee the only way to get new mount skins. Y'know.

Except it would be nice to, oh I don't know, maybe acquire them some other way by like, uh......... hm................... maybe playing the game? Instead of just buying them? Cut to early 2018 when ANet announces the new legendary weapons are skins in the gem store for 10,000 gems each. Why get those through playing when you can just chaching it into your inventory.

[Boons.4501]

This is insane. Anet,as a company,are pushing mount skin lootboxes on us like it's totally ok and normal. Out of the 5 years I've played GW I've only bought Black Lion Chest keys twice for an item I wanted. Twice. In the span of 5 years. There has been plenty of skins I've wanted from the Black Lion Chest's over the years but the main thing that's kept me from buying them all the time is because they're RNG. I refuse to throw free money at you for the sake of maybe getting an item I want.

And now you've done it with kittening MOUNT SKINS??? The one thing most people are excited about,you obviously try to exploit as hard as you can. This did not happen with gliders. This did not happen with outfits.

It's disgusting how,if you want 1 out of the 30 mount skins,you are forced to cycle through kitten knows how many Adoption Licenses in order to get that one skin. This is super low of you,Anet,and a kick under the belt towards people who might struggle with gambling. I know this is what you've always done with the minis but albeit on a much,much lower scale. But the minis are not a gameplay mechanic. The mounts are. The mounts are something you use all the time,like with gliders or possibly even outfits for that matter.

I am 100% against forcing "bad" skins on players. I suggest you change how you approach the mount skins and do the same for them as you do with gliders and outfits.

...this is the only time I've had a problem with you,Anet.

...outrageous.

[Wolfheart.7483]

@Cloud.7613 said:

@Wolfheart.7483 said:This outrage would be a tad more justified if this adoption contract was going to be the absolute final and only way to acquire new mount skins which i seriously doubt it will be.

This is entirely subjective. Right now, there are no ways other than the cash shop to obtain mount skins. Nothing that can be gained through game play (apart from gold wars 2), collections, achievements, raids, ect. The introduction of these mounts could have been done in a plethora of different ways, release them by mount, release them separately or over time in mini packs (reducing the odds, still bad IMO, but more palatable). Instead what they did was bulk every skin, good or bad in one loot table, KNOWING they haven't given anything but cash shop skins for mounts so far. That is questionable at best.

I understand that people will defend this practice or be nonchalant about how bad this was handled and i accept that. However, they handled this about as worse as they possibly could.

I stated the adoption contract won't be (and hasn't been) the only way to acquire mount skins, not that the gem shop won't be the only way. I expect the gem shop will be the primary way to acquire them much like outfits and gliders. I simply don't believe all future mount skins will be released behind the adoption contract.

[Alatar.7364]

There are two Options1) Remove the RNG Aspect, make the Mount skins from Licence a separate choice for 400+ gems per piece.2) Reduce the RNG Aspect per "Category". For Example: Keep the Adoption Licence but let player Chose from what Mount Category will the RNG chose, eg: Springers or Raptors, Jackals or Skimmers, etc.

[Wolfheart.7483]

@SmirkDog.3160 said:

@Wolfheart.7483 said:Obviously, y'know, I mean for the future, not just right this second. And, y'know, there were Halloween mount skins and the Reforged Warhound. So, y'know, the adoption contracts haven't actually bee the

only

way to get new mount skins. Y'know.

Except it would be nice to, oh I don't know, maybe acquire them some other way by like, uh......... hm................... maybe

playing the game

? Instead of just buying them? Cut to early 2018 when ANet announces the new legendary weapons are skins in the gem store for 10,000 gems each. Why get those through playing when you can just chaching it into your inventory.

Mounts were just added recently to the game. LWS4 hasn't even begun yet. They might add mount skins attainable in the game in the future. We simply don't know. If they are developing rare collections to attain special mount skins, akin to something like Aurora, that takes more time to develop than simply skins added to the gem store.

A player could earn gold in game and convert to gems to buy the adoption contracts. Much in the same way the gen1 legendary weapons could be bought for gold someone converted from gems. It isn't so different. As long as gold-> gems exists, you can always get gem shop items for playing the game and earning gold. Sure, someone may prefer to simply buy the skins they want directly. I completely understand that.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

@Alatar.7364 said:There are two Options1) Remove the RNG Aspect, make the Mount skins from Licence a separate choice for 400+ gems per piece.2) Reduce the RNG Aspect per "Category". For Example: Keep the Adoption Licence but let player Chose from what Mount Category will the RNG chose, eg: Springers or Raptors, Jackals or Skimmers, etc.

There are more options. They could make them sellable on the TP. They could make the price variable, from 300-400 gems for a more subtle skin, to 700-800 for one of the flashier ones. C'mon ANet, work with us here.

[Roadkill.2374]

@SmirkDog.3160 said:

@Wolfheart.7483 said:Obviously, y'know, I mean for the future, not just right this second. And, y'know, there were Halloween mount skins and the Reforged Warhound. So, y'know, the adoption contracts haven't actually bee the

only

way to get new mount skins. Y'know.

Except it would be nice to, oh I don't know, maybe acquire them some other way by like, uh......... hm................... maybe

playing the game

? Instead of just buying them?

Exactly what I was saying few pages back. Let us earn them ingame! They gave us only one dye channel mounts so they can milk us on them later.

[Firelily.7534]

My feedback: I don't have a particular problem with the random drop aspect. Do I love it? No. Do I think it's morally reprehensible? No. I bought some gems yesterday for other things, had enough left over to get a mount skin. I ended up with one of the Skimmer skins, Bright something or other. I was a little disappointed that the difference was so subtle from the regular mount skin. It looks like it's just different default coloring, maybe the patterns are different?

Going forward, if I have spare gems I might try for another skin (the Jackalope looks so cool). I guess I do hope that other ways to acquire them open up. Maybe have the dramatic ones be purchasable individually and leave the more subtle ones as RNG for completion purposes?