Disig.7169

While I agree there was a lot of redundancy, I feel like my post and a few others that were well thought out just got completely buried and utterly negated under a huge heap of people not really reading what others are saying and just throwing shit into a giant echo chamber.

You have a point with the max limit. That is important and I agree. I just saw a LOT of discussion where people did not understand why people were upset with lootboxes in general and thought I would help people to understand. Everything you said after that though I disagree with. You're taking a complex issue and completely undermining it and distorting it to mean something I did not intend. Also, people aren't necessarily giving their kids their credit cards. Kids are taking them from their wallets. Kids are smarter then you think. If they can figure out how to pay for something with it online by themselves, they can find out where you keep it.

Psychology. The negative and addicting effects of gambling have been well documented and studied. Some people are just hard wired to become helplessly addicted to gambling to the point where it destroys their lives. Sure, they could just "not buy it" but there in lies the fundamental misunderstanding: they can't. Addiction is powerful. Games themselves are already addicting, and for people who do get easily addicted to things adding in a gambling mechanic to a game, especially one they already play, can be devastating. And it get worse. Children are far more likely to fall into gambling addiction then adults. They lack impulse control and can easily be manipulated into spending money. Lootboxes have already had a toll on children, if the media is to be believed. I personally know several parents who have reported their normally well behaved kids stole their credit card to get lootboxes. And it's really not their fault: they have no impulse control. You don't develop that until later in life. So these "marketing" decisions are really preying on children in the long run. And that's the tragedy. Now I'm not an expert, so I will link articles and studies below. Here's a video from Extra Credits, they explain this issue far better then I can if you remain unconvinced: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_gambling - for a baseline understanding and more links at the bottom of the pagehttp://www.theage.com.au/victoria/children-as-young-as-12-at-risk-of-developing-gambling-problems-foundation-finds-20140306-348pm.htmlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2533814/ - Gambling, Youth and the Internet: Should We Be Concerned?https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/10/12/the-esrb-is-wrong-about-loot-boxes-and-gambling/#380ba8f52a64https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-video-game-companies-are-using-gambling-tactics-to-make-customers-addicted-2017-9 This is from a precursory web search. I'm not here to debate, I am here to inform. Of course I wont stop any debate in the comments, you're free to go at it. But I hope people start to get a sense for WHY it's such a big deal that Anet released what is essentially a "lootbox." Granted, it's not as bad as other lootboxes, but it's still a lootbox. I know it's asking a lot but please be kind to each other if you want to debate. I know a lot of people are angry. And a lot of people like to troll. But this is a real issue in gaming as a whole. Please don't full out rage on someone because they disagree with you. Being angry doesn't change minds. Thank you.

Huh...I actually thought it was a full mount. Not I am really confused about the price.

And it needs to die. "Standard" doesn't make it okay.

Where'd you get the info on no repeats? I definitely missed something. That being said, no repeats makes it...not as bad. I still disagree with the practice, but it does quell my anger a bit. There's a cap, and that's a good thing. i think official word was a tweet on twitter. And i bought them all, i did not get any repeats. Ah, that explains why I didn't see it. TY.

All the skins are AWESOME!!! Don’t worry about gems, just buy them and enjoy!!! Did ANet pay you to make this statement? Seriously, there are people for whom 120 EUR is a lot of cash. Most people, actually. It's a total rip-off. No, Anet didn’t pay me. So silly of you to think that. The skins are optional, and do not have any impact on gameplay, so let’s not be all mean to Anet over this. you must be new here. No, while the skins are optional, yes, you have two separate issues here. First, and most insidious is the deliberate preying on individuals with addiction issues that will end up spending the money to get all of the skins via compulsion, even if they shouldn't be spending that money. I'm sure you could look up the correlation between addictive personalities/behaviors and MMOs. This is predatory behavior on Anet's part and it just doesn't look good on them. Secondly though, and probably the easier thing to understand here is this:If Anet simply offered each skin at say 400 gems a pop and maybe the new one at 800 gems and these people on the forum and elsewhere all eventually bought the (lets say for arguments sake 10) ten skins they most wanted and even the new one (cuz its cool) that's roughly 4800 gems for lets assume here 50 people each. Thats 240000 gems, or roughly 3000 dollars american. Now, this is just a small sample, but I'm willing to wager this number is WAY higher in reality. We're talking serious money. The problem here is they have made it an RNG system which has left such a bad taste in these 50 people's mouths making them opt to not get any skins. For those keeping up, that amounts to ZERO dollars american. Now, from a business perspective I'd rather we get the first number and not the second, but apparently anet thinks their whales will float them on this one, so let them have at. I'm sure their quarterly numbers will tell all. And it won't look good. Then exchange in-game gold and get these items for FREE maybe? Do you have goddamn idea how long it would take to get that kind of gold in game? Not even remotely a valid excuse.

Where'd you get the info on no repeats? I definitely missed something. That being said, no repeats makes it...not as bad. I still disagree with the practice, but it does quell my anger a bit. There's a cap, and that's a good thing.

1: not talking about the Griffon mount. Talking about the 2000 gem mount in the gem store.2&3: where'd you find that info?4: I'm really not so sure about that.

They added a Jackelope skin, the one skin I've been wanting! Too bad I'm never going to get it because I don't gamble my real money.

There are a lot of questions I have about this new system Anet has developed. I would like a Dev to be able to answer these, if they can. 1: The new mount. Does it come with new masteries? What masteries does it use? It is going to have skins too? 2: Are there repeat skins? If I say, decide to buy the $100+ stack of RNG, is there a chance some of those boxes will be wasted because RNG gave me a repeat skin? 3: If there are repeat skins, are we compensated for that at all? Overwatch for instance gives currency for repeated content from lootboxes. Will this have a similar? 4: Do any of the skins have a higher percent chance of dropping then the others? These are some rather important questions. Knowing exactly how it works helps prepare people for their potential financial commitment. Considering the psychology behind pay mechanics like this, clarity is greatly needed. I will say I do not like the lootbox system. I do not approve of the gaming industry turning to gambling mechanics in order to make money. I find it an abusive practice considering the psychology behind it and how many people, especially young people, who are vulnerable to it. And I am greatly saddened that Anet, a company I have trusted to have the players at heart at all times, has done this. It feels like a betrayal. I don't know if the people in charge of this decision are aware of how many kids they are exposing to gambling and getting them addicted early, but they really need to do more research and reconsider.

Mounts: Fun Zones: Fun Events: Could be better Story: Interesting Eater of Souls Boss: Decidedly not fun Elite Specs: Mostly fun Kites: Best toys ever, especially watermelon sandshark Kites on Mounts: made my day Mobs: mixed feelings. Branded are a little difficult but the designs on all mobs, from Choya to Hydra, are amazing. New Armor: the new armor on female Asura (especially light armor top pieces) look bad. Please let us have the female version, not the male. Overall: Fun