Jump to content
  • Sign Up

Official Mount Adoption Feedback Thread [merged]


Recommended Posts

The other thing to do, once we comment here...is not buy them...until we get to choose the ones we want.

I mean do the math ANET peoples...you would get at least $30-50 out of me for $5/skin if I choose them. Mulitply that by lets say 1/3 of the player base. That's a good chunk of cash. You lose that much when we don't buy any, because RNG a skin i won't use and its a wasted 400 Gems...and I hate wasting my $$.

Its plain to see, if we express our disappointment here...and act on our disappointment in game by not buying any of the "Licenses". I would hope people will pay attention.

Thanks Gaile, for passing along our feedback and bringing it to peoples attention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Witch of Doom.5739 said:

@Turk.5460 said:Who would bother buying the non-shiny mount skins when they can just insta-get the most shiniest and most legendary looking ones? No one. <

Then how about don't bother MAKING the non-shiny skins, and focus on making the ones people actually WANT.

The reason the crap ones are in the lootboxes are so people unlock those instead of the ones they want, forcing them to keep buying the lootboxes to get the one they want. With a one in thirty chance of getting the one you want, you'll need to buy WAY more than just one lootbox to get the one you want. If you end up getting lucky and only buy ten lootboxes, that's still FOUR THOUSAND GEMS you spent on ONE DAM SKIN.

And that's not even taking into account whether or not the odds of each one dropping is equal. There are no drop tables yet, so the really cool looking ones could have a one in sixty or even EIGHTY chance of dropping rather than a one in thirty, artificially forcing you to buy EVEN MORE THAN 4000 GEMS on lootboxes to get them all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@EUmad.7645 said:IF you rate mount skins too expensive you can easily don't buy it. I usually don't buy skin but i can play aswell. THey are not mandatory so i don't see nothing wrong if they gain on that, it is not a p2w so it is really ok for me

It's more than just a "don't buy it" scenario. It's the principal of the decision to follow through with it and actively knowing that it's a dirty move. You can stand by and halfway defend them all you want, but at the end of the day. It was and is a bad move on their part.

In terms of what's going on in the media these days as an example, it's like if a movie is put out by a company that has a cameo from a celebrity who is a sexual predator. Are you going to keep watching movies from that company with the knowledge that they allowed the guy to be in it and knowing that he is a sexual predator?

Come on man. People have to stand up for tom-foolery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to make a list of good and bad, but I couldn't think of anything that's good in the current state - only things that would be good if the situation were a little different.

Guarantee of a skin you don't have yet WOULD be good, except there's really no other option, is there? The skins aren't tradeable or obtainable in any other way, so of course you can only get each skin once, because what else would you do with them?

400 gem price WOULD be good if the skins were tradeable on the trading post or if we had more control over which skin to unlock, whether that means straight up buy a skin or buy a random skin for a particular mount.

Pure random is bad because you can't even guarantee that you'll get a skin for a mount you own. In all likelihood most players will never unlock the griffon at all due to cost or not owning the expansion, so why are they receiving griffon skins they can't use? If the random element is going to stay, there should be mount-specific boxes or a guarantee that you'll only get skins for mounts you have, as well as a cap on how many skins are in a random box. Odds of getting a skin you like are too low.

In my opinion, in order to be fair, one of these two things needs to happen:

  • Sell individual mount skins at a fixed priceOR
  • Allow skins to be bought and sold on the trading post.

With the system as is I will not buy any mount skins and will actively recommend against potential players buying into the game in the worry that this is a sign of future development.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just My TL:DR 2 cents: It's an insulting cash grab.

We've got two accounts, me and the hubby, and we have spent...a lot of money in the Gem store (I must win the Fashion Wars!). So much so that there are time when I feel the need to hide the credit card bills cause I may have spent far more than I should have (think hundreds....in total: thousands of dollars).We have happily spent that money because GW2 has given us everything we wanted in WoW without a monthly subscription, true QoL improvements (Heck, release GW2 Version had things that made us both abandoned WoW immediately even though we had 7 totally accounts between us.) We felt fine spending a lot a month to WoW for half the quality of GW2 so spending that same (pulse more) in the Gem store was our way of....Paying the way for those people who aren't in the same financial position that we are.

It costs money, every month, for GW2 to just sit there on a server (even if its not turned on). To pay the bills you as a company need micro-transactions, and for what you provide in the f2p and expansions, those micro-transactions are paid by us happily to help fun further expansions and development. But we expect to get something for it.

The RNG on the Black Lion chests and Dyes....that's fine. They're low cost when it comes to Gems and if someone of a tighter budget really wants to try to get something, the lower gem cost is easier to farm for when it comes to Gold conversion.

Mounts though are to PoF....They're like the gliders were to HoT. You have some super special gliders that can be found in Black Lion chests but in the whole if there was a glider we wanted in the Gem store we could buy it out right. You've RNG gated your mounts behind a pay wall.

Mounts are PoF's shtick. Just as Gliders were for HoT. Yes, take some super special mounts and put them as RNG in the Black Lion Chests, but maintain the expectations of quality and service you set with HoT. Provide a majority of your skins by direct purchase.

We must be honest here. Mounts are the bee nee's. Everyone wants to have skins and colors and all the shinies! That is apart of the game play that is GW2. The other part of GW2 is the fact that there are multiple ways to get everything in the game. You can buy it on the AH, get it through achievements, do quests, farm for gold and exchange for gems, buy gems outright....Locking the mainstay item of your expansions behind a RNG gate with 400 gem cost can be perceived as nothing but a cash grab.

You need cash? I know there are a lot of abandonment skins floating around in peoples work folders. Polish those up and put them on the Gem store for direct buy. We'll buy them, we'll farm for the gold, ask our spouse, rob the kids piggy bank, whatever. We will help you take care of the bills because a vast majority of us adore GW2 and how much ya'll have offered to us through this game.

But this RNG 400 gem Mount game is a really sheisty disrespectful way to pay the bills where honesty and offering to "clean the gutters" would have gotten you what you needed with everyone, generally, happy in the end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am at an absolute point of fatigue with predatory loot box, DLC, and micro transaction practices taking place in so, so many new games. Unless arena net reverses their stance I will absolutely not log in and play any further. I have probably spent close to 1K over the last 5 years on this game. There is no legitimate need other than greed to begin a true casino style loot box. There are other games with less predatory practices I will move on to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't like the idea of buying a bunch of things that I don't actually need (basic mounts with different dye patterns) just to be able to obtain something that I want (unique mounts with new effects). I see this whole system as a pile of stepping stones, each one being sold to you for 400 gems. You pay once, you get the wrong mount. You pay again, you get the wrong thing again. Repeat till you waste 4000 or 6000 gems, still not getting anything you were looking for.

It saddens me to say this, but I am pretty much displeased with this. There's no place for RNG in this game (we already have quite a lot of it in form of the Black Lion chests).

Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all, thanks for making this thread and I hope it can be of some use. I think the two main issues here are pricing and the amount of 'RNG'. As many people have said, the price is very steep, and the poor 'RNG' came as an unpleasant surprise. It seems most people want these things given out for free or via in-game progress, and I think it could add an interesting aspect to the game. However, people should understand that you guys are a business overseen by an even bigger business, and profits margins are crucial. If the lootbox system is the route you guys want to take, please make them fairer to us, as they currently feel like an exploit of your player base. I think it's possible to make a lootbox system to benefit both parties, even though I'd rather the 'RNG' be removed entirely. My last point of contention, the pricing on the Reforged Warhound is plain unreasonable, even though some still chose to buy it. With that, should we be given the choice to choose from the 30 mount skins, I hope it comes at a more reasonable pricing point. Again, thank you for making this thread and hopefully this comment is of some use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I absolutely love the new skins and look forward to future ones; however, I'm sorely disappointed in the acquisition method being used to obtain them. Rather than have it all random, it would be better to just have 5 different tickets, each ticket being for a different mount type. I'd be fine with the RNG aspect if it were that way; at least I would be able to pick the type of mount I wanted to gamble on. But the most beneficial scenario would be being able to outright buy the mount skin you want at around the same price (400 gems). Players wouldn't have to waste time/gold/gems and can be satisfied with their mounts.

Just a thought, but if you think about it, some of these skins look like they could've been obtained via a heart/collection/quest, much like how a regrown Caladbolg was obtained via a series of collections and instances in Living World. The simplier skins would've been a great reward for players and a good incentive for them to return to the PoF maps or even other maps in Tyria. Meanwhile, the shinier skins would be sold in the gem store, but with a better way to obtain them, as stated previously.

Also worth noting is the price of the Reforged Hound. I get that it's a completely new model and unique animations, but 2000 gems is a bit overpriced for me. I'd rather spend 2000 gems gambling on the current mount Adoption Licenses than pay that much for a single skin, and I seriously refuse to spend anything on them atm. 800-1000 gems for a single, unique mount skin is the highest I'm willing to spend, be it hesitantly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Linking the main threads from reddit, in case someone missed them:

As for my opinion:

  • The gem store has kept getting more and more abusive since release. Worse prices, worse value, and forced packs. Look outside the whale bubble for new models, where you pay less but reach more customers.
  • RNG is awful, and it's only worse when you involve real money. It's literal gambling and it's ruined your reputation as a "clean company". The trust you've lost with this will take months to recover, if it's ever recovered.
  • Glider and mount skins need to have ingame-only options too, which you get by playing. If 99% of mount and glider skins are at the gem store, it feels like a ripoff. We paid for a box, we deserve more respect. If everything is going to be in the gem store, then stop charging for expansions altogether.
  • This game has a problem with being "rewarding". Putting a ton of skins in a vendor, buying from the trading post... that is not rewarding. Rewarding means working for something, feeling good at completing the journey. See ambrite weapons and carapace armor for examples. We need more rewarding stuff (skins, minis, etc) in the game, which leads to prestigious items. Include the previous point in this, and give us ingame prestigious mount skins.
  • Poor quality skins need to stop. Way too many cheap reskins. Charging money for different colored gliders, or mounts with a different horn angle or skin pattern, makes the whole selection looks like poor fan modding instead of actual quality.

At this rate, you're going to ruin the game, and I'm not kidding or exaggerating. Path of Fire has a lot of problems, and seeing how they are simply ignored while we get 30 new mounts in the gem store has only added insult to injury. If you want to recover your previous reputation, you better start working at ingame mounts which feel rewarding and prestigious, and have decent skins (looking at that awful legendary armor, which was utterly unacceptable). Before Christmas if possible, if you want to make any sales during the holidays.

Cosmetics are not part of the gameplay, but they are part of the game. If you keep pretending farming gold to turn it into gems will keep the game afloat, you're in for a very bad surprise. You better wake up already, it's been 5 years and you're still making the same mistakes.

Just a summary, but I hope whoever compiles the feedback from this thread checks the reddit threads above as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Nero DarkSlayer.9206 said:

@Turk.5460 said:Who would bother buying the non-shiny mount skins when they can just insta-get the most shiniest and most legendary looking ones? No one. <

Then how about don't bother MAKING the non-shiny skins, and focus on making the ones people actually WANT.

The reason the crap ones are in the lootboxes are so people unlock those instead of the ones they want, forcing them to keep buying the lootboxes to get the one they want. With a one in thirty chance of getting the one you want, you'll need to buy WAY more than just one lootbox to get the one you want. If you end up getting lucky and only buy ten lootboxes, that's still FOUR THOUSAND GEMS you spent on ONE DAM SKIN.

And that's not even taking into account whether or not the odds of each one dropping is equal. There are no drop tables yet, so the really cool looking ones could have a one in sixty or even EIGHTY chance of dropping rather than a one in thirty, artificially forcing you to buy EVEN MORE THAN 4000 GEMS on lootboxes to get them all.

This is purely anecdotal but most people who have talked about buying 3-6 contracts have all stated they got Springer mounts mostly in the initial drops, I barely use my springer so you could be on to something there

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Gaile Gray.6029 said:but have found that a single feedback thread offers the best opportunity for you to share your thoughts and for us to review it in the context of a wider set of feedback.

So here's a thread into which you're invited to post your thoughts on the subject of the Black Lion Stables Mount Skins.

Translation: We've made this thread so we can ignore you all in a group rather than than ignore you individually in the dozens of new threads flooding our forums.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You asked for my feedback, so here it is...

I hate how the Mount Adoption system is pretty much a RNG Lootbox. I really like some of the skins and would be willing to pay for them, but I certainly am not willing to pay for just a 'chance' to get them. I don't go to a clothing store and give them $20 for a 'chance' to get something I like! I really don't support the RNG Lootbox system at all (including the Black Lion Chests).

I think it was a really bad move on ArenaNet's part, ESPECIALLY with the serious fire that other gaming companies are taking because of their own RNG Lootbox systems and how much people hate them. The PoF expansion was amazing and gave GW2 some great reviews and popularity, but these RNG Lootboxes are just going to ruin it. As a loyal veteran, I'm already finding myself not as excited to play GW2 after reading up on all this...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So here's a thread into which you're invited to post your thoughts on the subject of the Black Lion Stables Mount Skins.

My Feed back is that I didn't see anything in the pack that motivated me to spend money or gems on this. I have the money, but the pricing model made it unattractive. Please tell your art department that some of these are really fantastic work though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Rococo.8347 said:

@Turk.5460 said:Who would bother buying the non-shiny mount skins when they can just insta-get the most shiniest and most legendary looking ones? No one. <

Then how about don't bother MAKING the non-shiny skins, and focus on making the ones people actually WANT.

The reason the crap ones are in the lootboxes are so people unlock those instead of the ones they want, forcing them to keep buying the lootboxes to get the one they want. With a one in thirty chance of getting the one you want, you'll need to buy WAY more than just one lootbox to get the one you want. If you end up getting lucky and only buy ten lootboxes, that's still FOUR THOUSAND GEMS you spent on ONE DAM SKIN.

And that's not even taking into account whether or not the odds of each one dropping is equal. There are no drop tables yet, so the really cool looking ones could have a one in sixty or even EIGHTY chance of dropping rather than a one in thirty, artificially forcing you to buy EVEN MORE THAN 4000 GEMS on lootboxes to get them all.

This is purely anecdotal but most people who have talked about buying 3-6 contracts have all stated they got Springer mounts mostly in the initial drops, I barely use my springer so you could be on to something there

I'm not on to anything; that's exactly how these systems work. If you don't give players what they want, but make them FEEL like they're getting closer, they'll keep buying without ever realizing how much they ACTUALLY paid to get the thing they want. It's corporate greed 101.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could have understood this if it had gone the same route as event currencies and BL tickets. 400 gems for 2 tickets/800 discounted for 5 (or get them rarely from BL chests, or god forbid make an achievement that gives some away and incentivizes getting more) , then it opens a vendor window where you could spend like, 1x on one of those basic/near unnoticeable reskins, 2x on a random roll, 3x on the fancy ones, maybe 5 on the super fancy unique ones that everyone would obviously want the most. Give them a rarity-based drop table from random rolls and let those ones be tradeable. I also love the idea of making some themed packs so you could nab a bundle of basic reskins vs a bundle of astral skins or elemental skins or something so you can get your fire and ice fix. Do literally _anything _but "hey you've got the option of $120 for everything or somewhere between $5 and $150 to find the few you love. You COULD also translate game money to gems but hey have fun grinding 100g only to get a skimmer with vaguely different dye channels. See you again in a few dozen hours!"

the variety is great, the skins are great and I didn't expect to see so much so soon, but the lack of any agency in acquiring even one of them is abysmal, and then there's a $25 jackal. I sincerely regret wasting the cash and spare gold for my wife and I on the halloween skins knowing their acceptance probably led to this new decision. Did the outcry of "let us purchase skins individually" coupled with "why is this bundle so pricy for four cheesy recolors" completely fly under the radar?

There's a video of opening all the skins and all I can do is count up by $5 or 100 gold increments every 3 seconds as they click through, and the longer the video goes the more depressing it gets. No single skin felt worth the value it took to reach it, nor does the collection as a whole feel like it's worth having it all, even as an altaholic

The moment I polished off masteries and beat out friends on the griffon races I just dropped off the face of the game, the lack of large scale map metas and bosses, mixed with the lack of any decent rewards for doing bounties after the achievements are fulfilled, really strikes me badly and I'm pained to know if future living world junk is just going to add more optional side maps while ignoring the issues the new main zone faces. (I'm still in disbelief that someone legitimately wrote to the reddit and the forum here early on that they were thankful for the amnoon casino coin meta.) I completely understand skins are a byproduct of keeping artists on the team working while they don't have mainline content to produce, but I'd rather pay garbage subscription fees if it meant somebody took the effort to tie some of this junk to prestigious achievements and difficult content, instead of giving us a thousand things to wear and nowhere to be for months on end

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let us buy the skins individually, or maybe like. Turn it so the adoption license opens a menu that lets you see the skins, choose one, and get it.

I've seen suggestions of breaking the RNG up into packs, like the raptor pack. While I think RNG at all is absolute, hot, sweaty, liquid garbage for something that you pay MONEY for- it would have been MARGINALLY better. Still pretty vomit flavored trash though.

Having RNG on something that we- as the consumer- pay ACTUAL MONEY FOR and should be GUARANTEED that OUR CASH DOLLAR goes towards something we genuinely want... is absolute dog breath. Take it somewhere to the free gameplay. I can accept RNG in a place where we get to play for it free, because heck, that's almost.... wow.... gameplay?? Huh... Who would have thought. But this isn't free stuff, it's stuff we pay money for, and should be again, GUARANTEED. I get that it costs a lot of money to host/make an MMORPG... but this isn't the route to go. I would have spent LOTS of money on mount skins without the RNG factor.

Oh, side note, maybe add something we can get in game if you INSIST on keeping the RNG. That's how it should be. Look to overwatch, people actually respect lootboxes there because you can- huh- GET THEM IN GAME?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ArenaNet,

I am not of the player population that typically posts on forums or social media. However I felt strongly enough about this topic that I felt I needed to share my perspective. You have a beautiful game and it has been my source of entertainment for the last 5 years. I typically spend $10-15 a month on the gem store, and I always feel like my purchase is meaningful and adds to my enjoyment of the game. When mounts were introduced with Path of Fire I became very enthusiastic about the potential mount skins would provide to the game. Aside from the limit to dye channels, the mounts were a huge hit and it helped me bring several new and old players into the game. Those players have likewise began to spend money on gems for convenience and aesthetic items. Many of us have been anxiously awaiting mount skins and have saved money and gems awaiting their arrival.

The current mount adoption system is disappointing, to a longtime fan and advocate of Guild Wars 2. And it is not because of the skins, they are truly awe inspiring and exciting. It is because of their acquisition and limited availability outside of a "chance" to receive the skin. I am aware this option provides a large revenue generation for your company and I support that, these are after all a cosmetic option and in no way increase the abilities of anyone who possesses these skins. But in its current form there is a feeling of disdain from players who have limited discretionary income and this section of your player base feels ignored. WE WOULD LOVE TO BUY MOUNT SKINS. But for me to tell a friend that in order to obtain the new mount skins he could end up getting 5 skimmer skins before he gets a skin for another mount is unacceptable. And for myself I would gladly pay over the 400 gem price for any of these skins if I could select which one. So I do not believe in pointing out a problem without also providing a solution.

1) Keep the Adoption license as is, there was clearly a lot of work put into this so I won't say abandon your decision, and I am sure many players have already purchased many mounts from this system.

2) Add the adoption license to the black lion chest as a rare drop, the black lion chest has always been a part of the game and accepted by the community, this is where RNG has an acceptable platform. Since there are already random wardrobe unlocks that feel like a bonus anyway, the random mount unlock fits here.

3) Tier the mounts, Reskins for 600-800 gems, Reskins with physical alteration for 1000-1400 gems, and particle effects added skins for 1600-2000. THIS allows players to select the exact skin, while still giving players value from the 400 gem "discount" on the adoption license. You have now appealed to your player base, created value in the adoption license, and have not had to retroactively compensate the players who have already purchased the adoption license.

As an additional note, tossing in a skin for each mount, with 2-4 dye channels, as rewards to grind for in Path of Fire would add an end game goal many players are searching for in Path of Fire. Those maps are gorgeous, please give us a reason to spend more time there.

Whatever you decide to do, thank you very much for your hard work, please continue to be the company we all believe you are and your community will continue to support you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...