What if every month, there was a different free item on the Black Lion shop?

[Doggie.3184]

19 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

So, you would eliminate ANet's biggest income generator and replace it with 9 month's worth of delay for 1 armor set to be released?  Not sure that fits the business plan.

As much as many complain about the quality and/or selection of items in the gem store, ANet has to bring in some cash to keep the game running.

I crave good armor more than anything currently and haven't spent money on anything in years cuz I really don't need more than one of those things and have legendary weapons. Meanwhile I purchase armor skins in other games though~ it's all I generally care about.

 

[nopoet.2960]

Actually think it might be good for business if a small amount of gems dropped in game.  Make them a rare drop from the skritt burglar and put a cap on how much you can get every week/month whatever.  I would probably be willing to buy the rest of the gems needed for an item so the free ones wouldn't be wasted. 

[Sobx.1758]

50 minutes ago, nopoet.2960 said:

Actually think it might be good for business if a small amount of gems dropped in game.  Make them a rare drop from the skritt burglar and put a cap on how much you can get every week/month whatever.  I would probably be willing to buy the rest of the gems needed for an item so the free ones wouldn't be wasted. 

Aren't we already getting gems from ap rewards? And if you'd be willing to buy gems just so your -for example- super rare random drop of 30gems didn't go to waste, then it really seems you should be willing to buy the same/similar amount of gems right now?

[kharmin.7683]

1 minute ago, Sobx.1758 said:

Aren't we already getting gems from ap rewards? And if you'd be willing to buy gems just so your -for example- super rare random drop of 30gems didn't go to waste, then it really seems you should be willing to buy the same/similar amount of gems right now?

But then they wouldn't get something for free  /s

[nopoet.2960]

2 minutes ago, Sobx.1758 said:

Aren't we already getting gems from ap rewards? And if you'd be willing to buy gems just so your -for example- super rare random drop of 30gems didn't go to waste, then it really seems you should be willing to buy the same/similar amount of gems right now?

Thing is, I'm not buying gems right now.  Also I didn't say super rare just rare.  I was thinking like 50gems at a time up to 250 a month.  Maybe they could also be a rare drop off of open world elites as well as skritt burglars.  Maybe I'm wrong but something like that would convert me from a non buyer to a buyer.  It might work for others as well. 

[kharmin.7683]

I can't understand how a company could give something away for free that would incentivize its customers to then spend money. 

Also, gems in the game are purchased by players, not injected into the store by Anet.  A proposal like this would inflate the in-game economy.

Hard pass.

[Sobx.1758]

4 hours ago, nopoet.2960 said:

Thing is, I'm not buying gems right now.  Also I didn't say super rare just rare.  I was thinking like 50gems at a time up to 250 a month.  Maybe they could also be a rare drop off of open world elites as well as skritt burglars.  Maybe I'm wrong but something like that would convert me from a non buyer to a buyer.  It might work for others as well. 

The point is you're already getting 400 gems for actively playing and completing achievements, I think what you propose would mainly incentivize using things like necro/turret engie farms to farm whatever they're already farming +bonus gems. I also doubt it would somehow "convert non-buyers into buyers", if it would be a substantial amount of gems, the non-buyers would probably just farm the monthly limit each month until they can buy what they want without spending.

...which, now that I think about it, technically is already a thing, since you can keep farming gold and converting it into gems. So in the end it's asking to get "more gold drop", seeing how that convertion works both ways. In other words: you're playing the game, you get the gold, now convert part of that gold into small amount of gems. Will doing that turn you from non-buyer into a buyer? Personally, I doubt it.

Edited February 15, 2022 by Sobx.1758

[mindcircus.1506]

10 hours ago, nopoet.2960 said:

Thing is, I'm not buying gems right now.  Also I didn't say super rare just rare.  I was thinking like 50gems at a time up to 250 a month.  Maybe they could also be a rare drop off of open world elites as well as skritt burglars.  Maybe I'm wrong but something like that would convert me from a non buyer to a buyer.  It might work for others as well. 

So you're not buying gems and engaging in the systems that keep the lights on.
...and you believe the solution is to give you free mtx currency..

 

Solid forum logic...can't wait for your thoughts on Balance.

[nopoet.2960]

16 hours ago, kharmin.7683 said:

I can't understand how a company could give something away for free that would incentivize its customers to then spend money. 

Also, gems in the game are purchased by players, not injected into the store by Anet.  A proposal like this would inflate the in-game economy.

Hard pass.

Ok, ok I don't think I'm convincing anyone so last post here.  Anet does have it in their power to make a second class of gems that don't convert to gold, maybe karma instead, and they could make them expire every 3 months or so.  That way you never quite get enough to buy an item outright (I think the cheapest item is 800 gems) but it would lower the bar for someone like me who loves the game but has never been comfortable buying digital goods to make the leap.  I suspect Arent has data that says something like gem buyers keep buying gems so, if you are interested in keeping the lights on, the best bang for the buck is finding some way to target us non gem buyers and convert us.

[kharmin.7683]

57 minutes ago, nopoet.2960 said:

 if you are interested in keeping the lights on, the best bang for the buck is finding some way to target us non gem buyers and convert us.

Or, you could support Anet by purchasing gems.  Sorry, but you won't get much sympathy here asking for yet more free stuff.

[Mik.3401]

I think regarding the black lion key/month it is a fair idea. I think it happened a couple times in the past. When it comes to cosmetics - it also happens very occasionally. I’m not sure if the giveaway of cosmetics needs to be amped up, the game is already overflowing with them whilst there are so many more important aspects which need focus. 

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

3 hours ago, nopoet.2960 said:

Ok, ok I don't think I'm convincing anyone so last post here.  Anet does have it in their power to make a second class of gems that don't convert to gold, maybe karma instead, and they could make them expire every 3 months or so.  That way you never quite get enough to buy an item outright (I think the cheapest item is 800 gems) but it would lower the bar for someone like me who loves the game but has never been comfortable buying digital goods to make the leap.  I suspect Arent has data that says something like gem buyers keep buying gems so, if you are interested in keeping the lights on, the best bang for the buck is finding some way to target us non gem buyers and convert us.

Jus' sayin'...there are many items on the Gem Store for less than 800 Gems. A Black Lion Key, non-discounted, is only 125 Gems.  Bank Access Express for 35 Gems.  Hats for 200/300 Gems.  Glider Skins for 300 - 500 Gems.  Etc., etc.

[mindcircus.1506]

 

4 hours ago, nopoet.2960 said:

 but it would lower the bar for someone like me who loves the game but has never been comfortable buying digital goods to make the leap. 

I fail to understand why Anet would value a customer who plays this game and doesn't engage with it on a financial level.

This whole idea of being "uncomfortable buying digital goods" in current year?
In an MMO why's life's blood is mtx?

 

This is clearly a bad faith argument for "free stuff".

[DarcShriek.5829]

TBH, Anet does give away free gem store items occasionally.  I'm happy with it.

[TagIsBad.1350]

5 hours ago, Mik.3401 said:

I think regarding the black lion key/month it is a fair idea. I think it happened a couple times in the past. When it comes to cosmetics - it also happens very occasionally. I’m not sure if the giveaway of cosmetics needs to be amped up, the game is already overflowing with them whilst there are so many more important aspects which need focus. 

 

Wow someone understood that this isn't  a decision that would obliterate the economy! Thanks for taking the time to consider it 🙂

[kharmin.7683]

It's not about obliterating the economy.  It's about sound business decisions.  I trust Anet to make those decisions that will best serve to keep the game running over anyone on the forums. 

If it would make Anet more money to give away free stuff once every month, I'm sure that they would be doing so. 

[Sobx.1758]

Black lion key a month? We already get a key per week for 20 minute worth of gameplay, which is 4 keys a month.

[Bollocks.4078]

If they were to do this I would expect it would be similar to the Chest of Black Lion Goods we get free for daily login every 7 days at best, maybe less.  For something like that outside of the daily rewards it might even be a subset of that where the better items are not part of it.  I don't see how it would make sense for them to give away more valuable items on a monthly basis for nothing.

 

The idea that them giving away gem store items would increase prices on the gem store doesn't make sense.  If that were true then why haven't the items in the Chest of Black Lion Goods increased in price.  Why have prices for items like Instant Repair Cannister and Revive Orbs stayed steady while they give them away all the time.  They even sometimes give away Black Lion Keys but that doesn't cause the price of them to increase.  They give away wardrobe unlocks with birthday rewards but it doesn't cause the price of cosmetics to increase.  Even if they are giving away higher value items occasionally, increasing the price of those items would hurt sales more than the occasional giveaways would.  If they start giving those things away so often that it affects sales (which wouldn't happen anyway) then increasing prices would hurt sales even more.

 

If you consider the Black Lion Key you get from weekly key farming to be free then wouldn't everything you get from playing the game technically be free?  By that logic every item and any gold you earn by playing the game is free.  By that logic your paycheck is free money.  

 

I don't see the idea of gems dropping in game working.  The actual affect will be different for each person.  I think most likely it either wouldn't be enough to matter or it would affect gem sales for $$.

 

To answer the "what if" question, I think it would be nowhere near what OP is hoping for.  We'd all just have a little more Bank Access Express and Merchant Express and Trading Post Express and Revive Orbs and Instant Repair Canisters.

[Jables.4659]

On 2/11/2022 at 1:56 PM, AusarViled.7106 said:

Ye me to, i never had a single thing given to me- and yes my family was very poor, we could not afford a 1 dollar chocolate bar, which was my birthday gift on my 6th birthday. I think it more depends on personal ethics- do you want to be dependent on others or on yourself, its fundamental decision, many take the easy route of begging. 

Were you telling the tale of charlie and the chocolate factory as if it was your lived experiences?

[Sobx.1758]

10 hours ago, Bollocks.4078 said:

If they were to do this I would expect it would be similar to the Chest of Black Lion Goods we get free for daily login every 7 days at best, maybe less.  For something like that outside of the daily rewards it might even be a subset of that where the better items are not part of it.  I don't see how it would make sense for them to give away more valuable items on a monthly basis for nothing.

 

The idea that them giving away gem store items would increase prices on the gem store doesn't make sense.  If that were true then why haven't the items in the Chest of Black Lion Goods increased in price.  Why have prices for items like Instant Repair Cannister and Revive Orbs stayed steady while they give them away all the time.  They even sometimes give away Black Lion Keys but that doesn't cause the price of them to increase.  They give away wardrobe unlocks with birthday rewards but it doesn't cause the price of cosmetics to increase.  Even if they are giving away higher value items occasionally, increasing the price of those items would hurt sales more than the occasional giveaways would.  If they start giving those things away so often that it affects sales (which wouldn't happen anyway) then increasing prices would hurt sales even more.

 

If you consider the Black Lion Key you get from weekly key farming to be free then wouldn't everything you get from playing the game technically be free?  By that logic every item and any gold you earn by playing the game is free.  By that logic your paycheck is free money.  

 

I don't see the idea of gems dropping in game working.  The actual affect will be different for each person.  I think most likely it either wouldn't be enough to matter or it would affect gem sales for $$.

 

To answer the "what if" question, I think it would be nowhere near what OP is hoping for.  We'd all just have a little more Bank Access Express and Merchant Express and Trading Post Express and Revive Orbs and Instant Repair Canisters.

So 20 minutes ingame for a BL key/week doesn't count, ok. Then what about previously mentioned gold -> gem exchange, gems from achievement point rewards or the BL item available as a log-in reward? No matter how you look at it and whatever limitation we'll try to use here, there are already "free options" and apparently it's just about getting more anyways. Pretty much what some people already pointed out in this thread:

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/107919-what-if-every-month-there-was-a-different-free-item-on-the-black-lion-shop/?tab=comments#comment-1565355  

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/107919-what-if-every-month-there-was-a-different-free-item-on-the-black-lion-shop/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-1566147 

[Bollocks.4078]

4 hours ago, Sobx.1758 said:

So 20 minutes ingame for a BL key/week doesn't count, ok. Then what about previously mentioned gold -> gem exchange, gems from achievement point rewards or the BL item available as a log-in reward? No matter how you look at it and whatever limitation we'll try to use here, there are already "free options" and apparently it's just about getting more anyways. Pretty much what some people already pointed out in this thread:

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/107919-what-if-every-month-there-was-a-different-free-item-on-the-black-lion-shop/?tab=comments#comment-1565355  

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/topic/107919-what-if-every-month-there-was-a-different-free-item-on-the-black-lion-shop/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-1566147 

I think you're reading something into my post that isn't there.  I never said there aren't fee options.  I think there are plenty of free options in the game.  Just to clarify, all I'm saying in that part of my post is that I don't consider items or gold you earn by playing the game to be free.  I think most people would agree with that.  I do consider the daily login rewards to be free.  

For the record I agree with the two posts you linked.  I'm not sure about the part where Danikat says people forget about the daily login rewards.  I don't specifically disagree with it, I'm just now sure about it.  I don't forget about them.  Seems like it would be hard to forget, that little floaty chest is pretty attention grabbing.  Also, if you do completely ignore them they will start auto-opening and going into your bags. 

How about a little more on where you're coming from?  If you say that 20 minutes for the BL key is free then where would you draw the line?  What if it were 40 minutes?  Or 2 hours?  What if that 20 minutes is part of a 10 hour routine.  Would you say everything earned during that 10 hours is free?  Do you consider it to be free because it's "playing" rather than "working?".

Feel free to elaborate on that or not.  I'm sure we could go nuts on an endless discussion arguing semantics on free vs earned and all the related variables and tangents.  Bottom line is I never said there aren't freebies in the game.

[Danikat.8537]

I don't think the login rewards as a whole get forgotten, just that some of the replies make it sound like some people have forgotten we already get a free gem store item every 7 days, either because they're suggesting the same thing but less frequently or because they're saying Anet wouldn't do it when they already do.

It makes me think if they added a free item in the gem store every month it would go the same way and sooner or later someone would be suggesting even more free stuff via a different method, either because they've forgotten we already get them from login rewards and in the store or because that's become 'normal' now and they don't think it's enough any more.

It's making me think that while I get tired of the endless complaining that Elder Scrolls Online's login rewards are not good enough at least varying them from month to month and the seemingly endless hope that this month it will all be super-valuable things tailored to each players personal preferences gets people to look at what they are getting instead of it becoming a routine thing which gets collected and forgotten.

[Bollocks.4078]

Thanks for the clarification, that totally makes sense.  I misunderstood what you were saying initially.

[Sobx.1758]

2 hours ago, Bollocks.4078 said:

I think you're reading something into my post that isn't there.  I never said there aren't fee options.  I think there are plenty of free options in the game.  Just to clarify, all I'm saying in that part of my post is that I don't consider items or gold you earn by playing the game to be free.  I think most people would agree with that.  I do consider the daily login rewards to be free.  

For the record I agree with the two posts you linked.  I'm not sure about the part where Danikat says people forget about the daily login rewards.  I don't specifically disagree with it, I'm just now sure about it.  I don't forget about them.  Seems like it would be hard to forget, that little floaty chest is pretty attention grabbing.  Also, if you do completely ignore them they will start auto-opening and going into your bags. 

How about a little more on where you're coming from?  If you say that 20 minutes for the BL key is free then where would you draw the line?  What if it were 40 minutes?  Or 2 hours?  What if that 20 minutes is part of a 10 hour routine.  Would you say everything earned during that 10 hours is free?  Do you consider it to be free because it's "playing" rather than "working?".

Feel free to elaborate on that or not.  I'm sure we could go nuts on an endless discussion arguing semantics on free vs earned and all the related variables and tangents.  Bottom line is I never said there aren't freebies in the game.

I never said you've said there aren't freebies in the game. The focus here was rather on the fact that despite them already being in the game in various forms, people still ask for more and will ask for more regardless of what they get.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Sobx.1758

[Bollocks.4078]

1 hour ago, Sobx.1758 said:

I never said you've said there aren't freebies in the game. The focus here was rather on the fact that despite them already being in the game in various forms, people still ask for more and will ask for more regardless of what they get.

If that's you point then I'm really confused as to how your reply relates to my post.  I'm clearly not asking for freebies or supporting the posts that are asking for freebies.  It seems that you are actually trying to disagree with me on what counts as a freebie.  You specifically referenced key farming and what I said about it.  I think we both agree that there are plenty of freebies.  We can disagree on whether or not certain things count as freebies.  That's OK.  

 

I just added the third confused emoji to your post where you first quoted me and I actually mean confused by it.