Make Gem Store Skins Mean Something

[kharmin.7683]

1 hour ago, Thereon.3495 said:

GW2 also needs more ways to retain it's playerbase other than what it currently has. Adding collections that use content already in the game is an easy way to do this.

 

Anet determines what the game "needs".  Their metrics might show that a larger majority of players don't actually prefer collections and thus it would be a waste of resources or, at the least, not enough RoI.   I'm fairly certain that Anet makes more money from the gem store, too, so why would they implement features that could potentially reduce that income?

[Rasimir.6239]

2 hours ago, Thereon.3495 said:

There is a general consensus that the gem store is taking content away from the game

This is precisely what I was already trying to challenge in my first post in this thread: I disagree that this is a general consensus. On the contrary this is flat-out false from my personal experience.

[anduriell.6280]

And here I though paying gems with the credit card was meaningful enough...

[Fuchslein.8639]

No, just NO. I know i'm in the minority with this, but i HATE collections.

I do them because I have to, if I want to have some things hidden behind them. I don't care about the rest.

If I exchange hundreds of gold into gems, that's work enough for me, then I want the skin immediately and not first a mail that tells me "Congratulations, my dear friend. You have completed XY, go to XY and start your adventure" or something like that >>.
Wtf is the thought behind this?
There is nothing that gives a skin prestige, except for people. I've seen people who think someone is great because he has legys, even legy armor but at the same time died all the time ...
I just don't understand this whole idea behind "prestige". This says NOTHING about the player, especially not in GW2.

Edited January 11, 2022 by Fuchslein.8639

[Khisanth.2948]

People who want to obtain things via in game will be unhappy because you still have to pay

People who want to simply buy things and be done with it will be unhappy because you still have to do stuff in game.

Having to create additional content for gemstore items also means less devs available to work on other content so people want more content will now be forced to pay for it. You might as well just say "GW2 should have a subscription" in which case just use the search there has been plenty of threads on that already as well.

Who exactly is this supposed to satisfy? If you have no audience then you have no product.

[Klowdy.3126]

I feel like the easiest solution to feel like the gem store is rewarding would be to convert gold to gems, and buy like that, since you would need to play the game to make it happen. My method is accumulate gold doing what I like (very slowly sometimes, but fun is more important to me than just getting rewards), and waiting for the exchange to be <120 gold for 400 gems. I've seen it as low as 102, but that was long ago, though it regularly hits the 115 mark. Save up your gems for something new or returning. Stuff always comes back around.

 

In doing this, I've made the gem store much more rewarding to myself without changing anything about the game.

[Avenrise.3592]

Ive learned a valuable lesson from my many years playing games- know when you're preaching to a brick wall. Will leave the thread up for future discussion but I guess... wrong crowd!

[Rogue.8235]

Did the OP just re-invent living world episodes?

[Firthiros.6913]

Huh? I paid for the outfit with gems. these gems are my sacrifice to have the outfit immediately. If I am forced  to do a collection after that, then why do i also need to pay gems? If I am doing a collection to get the outfit, then I don't want to pay gems, I want to earn the outfit by doing activities in game instead. I'm not doing both, sorry. having to pay gems is enough, i would think. Weird thread....

[Danikat.8537]

I finally got around to checking the OP's specific example of killing Dhuum on challenge mode and while it doesn't directly have a unique reward it's one of the steps required for the title 'Voice in the Void' and also gives you a chest which lets you choose one of the unique items which are otherwise a rare drop from defeating him. None of which requires buying anything from the gem store first. Although it does of course require you to have Path of Fire.

[Alcatraznc.3869]

14 hours ago, Thereon.3495 said:

Now I value criticism of course however a lot of people here are being very one-track minded. There is a general consensus that the gem store is taking content away from the game and my idea was merely to try and add a way to incorporate gameplay into gem purchases. Saying "I bought the thing so I should get the thing" isn't a valid argument- it would be like saying "I bought the XP booster, might as well just give me the XP up front". 

GW2 also needs more ways to retain it's playerbase other than what it currently has. Adding collections that use content already in the game is an easy way to do this. With regards to earning skins why is it seen as a bad thing to actually play game content? What is it that drives people to just want to earn 'gold>gems>get skin' as quickly as possible? Is that even playing the game if, as you say, gold is easy to earn? It's collecting for collecting sake and I can understand that IRL but on a digital platform?

It's been mentioned multiple times by multiple different popular streamers and brought up many times by players themselves... the gem store is a (necessary) issue. If you have an idea that, essentially, doesn't hurt ANET's bottom line that will improve the situation then I'm honestly all ears.

 

 

The gem store is not taking content away at all. The game does have content and unique reward linked to said content. Raid legendary armor is an example. I dont know where the "general consensus" comes from but so far all the people who used the argument that "gemstore takes content away" is because they want the flashy skins to be some form of prestige only the few elected one can have. 

 

Again, most people here are not saying they dont want to have skins locked behind collection where you have to play X to earn Y. We are disagreeing on having to purchase an item in the gemstore using either RL money or in game gold AND having to unlock it by doing a collection. Acquiring gem should be enough. If you want to lock stuff behind a collection then just make a collection with that item as the end reward period. No purchase or anything.

[Strixxe.2019]

New buisness model -  pay to grind? No thank you

[Ashen.2907]

18 hours ago, Thereon.3495 said:

Now I value criticism of course however a lot of people here are being very one-track minded. There is a general consensus that the gem store is taking content away from the game and my idea was merely to try and add a way to incorporate gameplay into gem purchases. Saying "I bought the thing so I should get the thing" isn't a valid argument- it would be like saying "I bought the XP booster, might as well just give me the XP up front". 

GW2 also needs more ways to retain it's playerbase other than what it currently has. Adding collections that use content already in the game is an easy way to do this. With regards to earning skins why is it seen as a bad thing to actually play game content? What is it that drives people to just want to earn 'gold>gems>get skin' as quickly as possible? Is that even playing the game if, as you say, gold is easy to earn? It's collecting for collecting sake and I can understand that IRL but on a digital platform?

It's been mentioned multiple times by multiple different popular streamers and brought up many times by players themselves... the gem store is a (necessary) issue. If you have an idea that, essentially, doesn't hurt ANET's bottom line that will improve the situation then I'm honestly all ears.

The best way to demonstrate that you, "value criticism," of your ideas is to denigrate those criticizing your ideas and state that their arguments are  not valid because you disagree with them.

 

My idea, that does not hurt ANet's bottom line is to let me spend money on those cosmetics I wish to buy without putting additional barriers between my cash and my purchase. It is almost always a bad idea, not just in gaming, to make it more difficult for consumers to spend their money on your product. 

You are not suggesting adding gameplay to the gemstore purchase process, that already exists via gold/gem conversion. You are suggesting that ANet impose your preferred form of gameplay on others.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You say "GW2 also needs more ways to retain it's playerbase other than what it currently has."  I'm not sure implementing something that seems universally unwanted will be a way to achieve that goal. 

 

Now, if you had suggested extra paid content, such as Side Stories, that offered some coveted reward at completion in the Gem Store, you might...might...have had better reception.  I don't know.

[Tukaram.8256]

I paid for one outfit in GW. I have never bought a skin in GW2, and most likely never will.  If GW2 depends on skin sales to stay open... sadly it will get no help from me.  However IF I were to ever buy a skin... it better go straight to my mailbox. No messing around ingame for something I already paid for.

I do buy the occasional convenience items (bank or backpack tab) but little else.  I got 4,000 gems when I pre-ordered PoF, and still had 600 of them when I pre-ordered EoD (and got another 4,000).  😎

[Sigmoid.7082]

11 hours ago, Thereon.3495 said:

Ive learned a valuable lesson from my many years playing games- know when you're preaching to a brick wall. Will leave the thread up for future discussion but I guess... wrong crowd!

I'm unsure its the crowd being the brick wall. You'll struggle to find the right crowd for an idea like this; So is it really the crowd that's wrong here?

Edited January 12, 2022 by Sigmoid.7082

[Mungrul.9358]

While I appreciate the sentiment, I'm afraid I'm also a hard "nope".

It's one of the things I dislike about Battle Passes, where items are locked behind progression, even though you've technically paid for them.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Mungrul.9358
Paid twice.

[Guirssane.7082]

Bad idea in my opinion. See the first reply for the reason. 

[Eros.6801]

To OP

If you are still reading  this then i have something similar to your idea but at the same time different.

- I'll be honest, almost everyone playing GW2 found the collection part tedious so let's avoid that but stay with the origial idea about making Gems item mean something.

- So my version is when someone bought a skin they get the skin right away and in adition they also get a book or something that tells about the origin of the items, where it came from, timeline, how does it made/forged, something that take us through the background of the item. GW2 is a great story telling mmo so why not exploit that part instead of the boring collection ? a short cinematic is even better and immersive.

- With this not only the skins mean something but also adding more lore and quality to the game and as someone who love reading what more wouldi want ?. But that was all just a dream because in contrast to your idea this put a tremendous effort on the dev team due to so many skins were introduced over the years and probably never gonna happen just like yours. So i'm happy with the way things are please don't change anything 🤣.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Eros.6801

[Zera.9435]

On 1/10/2022 at 3:58 AM, Alcatraznc.3869 said:

If it is in the gemstore, I want to buy the thing and have access to whatever I bought as soon as it arrive in my mailbox. I already paid gems, I dont want to complete a collection as well, the gems is already enough.

 

If you want to add skins locked behind some content then sure I dont mind but dont force that  into the gemstore or whatever stuff you buy. 

When you consider that lots of people are willing to fork out cash for a product they can't immediately use (aka those that pre-purchased EoD), OPs idea might have merit to ArenaNet.

I'm with you, though. I think it's a bad idea to pay for a product or service that you can't immediately use or benefit from.

[WaveIn.4091]

To be totally honest, I buy my fashion with real money. I even buy gold this way sometimes. I bought absolutely zero from the gem store my first three years, by any means. Presumably GW2 is aware some people do this and presumably it’s lucrative for them. 
 

I do see peer pressure to stop wearing fashion I bought, and even fashion I got in drops or BL chests with keys I earned by leveling characters, because I’m not elite and am kind of a casual. I keep wearing it. I even keep buying more. 
 

Why? 
 

For one thing, it would be a shame to have invested in looking great and not use it. 
 

For another thing, I think it really adds to the look, feel, and even content of the world to have people wearing the fashions they themselves have put together using a combination of what they bought and what they earned. 
 

I really love looking at everyone’s fashion. I even wonder if some of it has driven plot developments. 
 

Keep looking awesome!

[Omega.6801]

21 hours ago, Thereon.3495 said:

Ive learned a valuable lesson from my many years playing games- know when you're preaching to a brick wall. Will leave the thread up for future discussion but I guess... wrong crowd!

Maybe your idea needs refining. But sure, if the big media outlets cope with "oh well, my genius creation was just too good for these mere mortals" why shouldn't you 😉

Edited January 12, 2022 by lokh.2695

[Khisanth.2948]

6 hours ago, Zera Allimatti.2541 said:

When you consider that lots of people are willing to fork out cash for a product they can't immediately use (aka those that pre-purchased EoD), OPs idea might have merit to ArenaNet.

I'm with you, though. I think it's a bad idea to pay for a product or service that you can't immediately use or benefit from.

but pre-purchase does give stuff that can be used immediately

 

the lv80 boost was also added as a result of people not wanting to play through other stuff before they could start playing the expansion they just bought ...

[Klowdy.3126]

On 1/12/2022 at 1:43 PM, Zera Allimatti.2541 said:

When you consider that lots of people are willing to fork out cash for a product they can't immediately use (aka those that pre-purchased EoD), OPs idea might have merit to ArenaNet.

I'm with you, though. I think it's a bad idea to pay for a product or service that you can't immediately use or benefit from.

Prepurchases pretty much always come with instant rewards. I mean, why buy a digital product that isn't available yet, unless you were getting something immediately? Maybe if they want to add a collection to every item that makes them slightly better looking (like gear in AC Valhalla as you upgrade it). THAT could have merit. Still seems like more work than what is needed.