Before the steam launch things need to be properly explained - namely the fact that there is content gated by further paywalls beyond the expansion purchase price.

[Tyrant.1270]

If this game launches on steam and the language used for the expansion bundle is used there - it will be a bad time, when people hit paywall after paywall despite reading things like "Get everything you need to experience Tyria" they are likely going to refund their expansion bundle and give the game a bad review.

It needs to be reworded or at least explained to people that they are not acquiring "Everything they need to experience Tyria" or bad reviews will follow.

I've included an image of the expansion collection language from the store page. 

I want the game to have a successful steam launch.

https://i.imgur.com/nnvgtly.png

[Diovid.9506]

Agreed. I don't mind how Living Story is monetized but it could and should be marketed much more transparently. 

[yann.1946]

Agreed, transparency is key.

[Vayne.8563]

This is, and has been, one of my biggest complaints about the game for ages.  I don't feel like the game costs too much money. I feel like the game doesn't openly and honestly explain to you what it will cost you up front.

[Tyrant.1270]

My proposed solution is to add a "Complete Pack" on Steam. This will carry a higher price tag but open up all content. Since the expansion bundle is $49.99 perhaps they could offer all of the Living Story + Expansions for $59.99 or $69.99.

[HowlKamui.5120]

Agreed.

 

Ngl some of those older content should be free at this point when you purchase the expansion. Otherwise, if this goes on, gw2 will be a very expensive mmo to completely have all the content of. 

[mortrialus.3062]

I've never payed for any of the living world episodes as i got all of them for free by logging in.  They all should be bundled with their respective expansions.  I dunno how much money Anet is actually making of the living world episodes, but having to pay for the expansions as well as the living world chapters is always an incredible turn off for players.

Edited April 26, 2022 by mortrialus.3062

[Danikat.8537]

They definitely should make it clearer, and not just for Steam. I don't think it's a problem than the Living World seasons have to be paid for, but the website and store doesn't make that clear. IMO just refering to it as DLC would help because I think that term is familiar to most gamers.
 

1 hour ago, Tyrant.1270 said:

My proposed solution is to add a "Complete Pack" on Steam. This will carry a higher price tag but open up all content. Since the expansion bundle is $49.99 perhaps they could offer all of the Living Story + Expansions for $59.99 or $69.99.

I think that would be the best option.

That way players who just want to get everything for 1 price can do so, and even those who don't should be aware there's more to buy from the fact that the option exists. Meanwhile players who just want a paid version of the game and not necessarily all the content (say for example people who almost exclusively play PvP or WvW so they want elite specs but not a bunch of extra storylines and PvE maps) can buy a cheaper version.

That also avoids the opposite problem happening: when someone buys a bundle of expansions + Living World (which would be more expensive than the expansions on their own) then gets angry when they learn that they could have just bought the expansions and got the Living World from the gem store with gold.

[Gorem.8104]

4 hours ago, Tyrant.1270 said:

If this game launches on steam and the language used for the expansion bundle is used there - it will be a bad time, when people hit paywall after paywall despite reading things like "Get everything you need to experience Tyria" they are likely going to refund their expansion bundle and give the game a bad review.

It needs to be reworded or at least explained to people that they are not acquiring "Everything they need to experience Tyria" or bad reviews will follow.

I've included an image of the expansion collection language from the store page. 

I want the game to have a successful steam launch.

https://i.imgur.com/nnvgtly.png

Anet? and good Marketing? hahaha 😛 Yeah, I'll never understand it myself. Unless, does that pack actually give all living worlds as well? Had a look at all three levels, they all say stuff like "unlock everything" but don't mention the fact that living worlds exist.  Actually surprised they didn't put all the living worlds in the biggest pack with everything considering this statement: 

"ALL CONTENT IN ONE COLLECTION"

[Randulf.7614]

Agreed

[BearChow.7284]

I fell for this trap. I came back to gw2 after 5 year break and bought the EoD xpack that included HoT and PoF. I was exited to play all story content from beginning in order until I found out i need to spend another 50$ to buy all living world. I was not pleased. 

I end up skipping all that living world content and I don't think I will buy it. 

Another issue I run into is when I bought all those xpack trough their store, it did not state that was in American currency. I live in Canada so my xpacks cost me more then expected.

[deadsyeren.9583]

Just going to agree. Especially when content like the dragon mount is locked behind one of them. Basically, if I want to experience this mount I have to pay for the proper stories. This is not advertised. I have never understood them charging for content like that. The DLC + their shop should be more than enough profit. 

[Ashen.2907]

I believe that the steam launch is the perfect time to bundle LW seasons with expansions. People will understand the need to buy expansions to get the whole story. Those of us who logged in, or paid, to get LW episodes in the past have gotten what we paid for. Now its time, IMO, to recognize that the current system is a barrier to getting large numbers of new players to fully engage with the game and so with the gemstore. I, for one, would love to see old LS maps fully alive, occupied by more than the occasional LW map tour.

[Freya.9075]

They should label living world better. Bundle them together sounds like a good idea as well. Personally it didn’t bother me since I just bought with gold, but I can see why it can be something other players react negatively to. 

[Cuks.8241]

Get everything you need to experience the vast living world. Oh we forgot to mention the world is not included. 

But after spending 50 bucks you can go to forums to express your opinion where people who got it for free will explain how its such good value. 

[Ashen.2907]

1 minute ago, Cuks.8241 said:

Get everything you need to experience the vast living world. Oh we forgot to mention the world is not included. 

But after spending 50 bucks you can go to forums to express your opinion where people who got it for free will explain how its such good value. 

We didn't get it for free. We paid the price set byANet.

 

Still I think that the Steam launch is a good time to include LW seasons with their relevant expansions.

[DeanBB.4268]

While I do agree the DLCs need better bundling and transparency, I also think the "game is coming to Steam" excuse needs to just stop. Are Steam users all idiots? I use Steam and don't consider myself an idiot. But you'd think so from all these posts. How about we make an improvement for improvement's sake?

Steam Users are used to DLCs. How many DLCs did I have to buy for Civ 5 & Civ 6? Sheesh. Make some bundles, show all the DLCs on the Steam GW2 page, don't leave any surprises as far as that goes, it'll be good.

[Ledi.9742]

yeahh this is just... unintuitive and overall bad. how new players are meant to realize that when they buy the complete bundle, they are buying only half of the story content, and they have to buy a whole bunch more to actually get the full story? i have have had friends decide against buying anything at all after i had to explain to them that they arent unlocking all the story content with the "complete" bundle.

i dont undestand why actual complete bundle is not a thing already. there should at least be an option to buy all the living world content while buying the expansions. fragmenting the purchase like this is just bad.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Mutisija.5017

[mythical.6315]

All they need to do is add them as an option on the Steam page as something that can be bought. The majority of Steam users should already assume that they are DLC as this is what practically every other game does. 

[Gorem.8104]

47 minutes ago, DeanBB.4268 said:

While I do agree the DLCs need better bundling and transparency, I also think the "game is coming to Steam" excuse needs to just stop. Are Steam users all idiots? I use Steam and don't consider myself an idiot. But you'd think so from all these posts. How about we make an improvement for improvement's sake?

Steam Users are used to DLCs. How many DLCs did I have to buy for Civ 5 & Civ 6? Sheesh. Make some bundles, show all the DLCs on the Steam GW2 page, don't leave any surprises as far as that goes, it'll be good.

Peoples main fear is that GW2 launches to a steam release of reviews a long the line of mixed - bad ratio due to the way Anet markets the game and their misleading titles. Telling you you get all of the games content, only for you to realise when in game that you still need to pay to unlock, the games content. 

If they were transparent, then it'd be fine. If they showed the DLC on the steam page to include costs for all living worlds and expansions, it'd be fine. And there needs to be a bundle that does in fact give all content. But knowing Anet, they'd make that bundle cost $200 or something and include a bunch of gems/skins if they did do it to really throw people off. 
There's a reason why its not on steam in its current state. 

[dippy.8961]

At this point, I feel like LW content should be included with the expansions.  LW1 & 2 with core, LW3 with HoT, and LW4 & 5 with PoF.  Absent that, bundle the already released LW content into one package that can be purchased outside of the gem store.

[Danikat.8537]

1 hour ago, DeanBB.4268 said:

While I do agree the DLCs need better bundling and transparency, I also think the "game is coming to Steam" excuse needs to just stop. Are Steam users all idiots? I use Steam and don't consider myself an idiot. But you'd think so from all these posts. How about we make an improvement for improvement's sake?

Steam Users are used to DLCs. How many DLCs did I have to buy for Civ 5 & Civ 6? Sheesh. Make some bundles, show all the DLCs on the Steam GW2 page, don't leave any surprises as far as that goes, it'll be good.

I've said much the same thing in the past. I think at some point Anet said there would be some updates ahead of the Steam launch, so people think claiming Steam players will need whatever they want is a way of making it happen. But some of them have been very strange and condescending.

I don't think this one is so bad, not just because I think it's a valid point but also because it's something that actually will (and does) affect new players and potential players. Some of the suggestions, which come down to "I'm bored with replaying the same stuff", portray Steam gamers as the most inexperienced, casual players going, if not actually stupid.

[Cuks.8241]

1 hour ago, Ashen.2907 said:

We didn't get it for free. We paid the price set byANet.

 

Still I think that the Steam launch is a good time to include LW seasons with their relevant expansions.

I got it for free (LS4+ because I started before LS4). And could get the rest for free a few months a go if I hadnt got them before.

[Ashen.2907]

2 minutes ago, Cuks.8241 said:

I got it for free (LS4+ because I started before LS4). And could get the rest for free a few months a go if I hadnt got them before.

ANet listed two currencies that they would accept as payment for access: 

1) time. If you gave them your time, by logging in during a specific time period, you would have access. I made a point of logging in during a time frame when I was taking a break from the game. This price was very affordable but was still a price to be paid.

2) real world money.

 

As far as I know everyone with access to those LW chapters paid one of those prices.

[Cuks.8241]

3 minutes ago, Ashen.2907 said:

ANet listed two currencies that they would accept as payment for access: 

1) time. If you gave them your time, by logging in during a specific time period, you would have access. I made a point of logging in during a time frame when I was taking a break from the game. This price was very affordable but was still a price to be paid.

2) real world money.

 

As far as I know everyone with access to those LW chapters paid one of those prices.

Sure, explain that to the customer for whom the option 1 is non existent. We're sorry, we do not accept current time and perhaps in few years we will accept future time (no promise though) but we do accept $$$.