A Message About the Mount Adoption License

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot.8947]

Look at the positives people, more money in your pocket.

[endirasae.3015]

I knew mount skins would be the new monetisation strat for GW2 and was ok with that, but I am frankly astounded you guys thought this RNG lootbox method was the way to go about it. I would have happily spent a bit of money on a skin for each of my mounts and was even looking into doing so when I logged in this morning, and then I learned you couldn't just buy the ones you want.

I like the skins, but I hate this strategy of selling content via RNG and am extremely skeptical that no one in charge thought there might be a backlash considering the current climate with stuff like this being shoved into games.

[Darcness.2408]

@usnedward.9023 said:

@Darcness.2408 said:I can honestly say I have lost all consumer faith for this game over this and I don't think I'm going to buy gems of any variety for a long, long time.

Sure you will. I always say I won't and then a new shiny I like comes out and off to PayPal I go. RNG stuff I use gold to GEM trade because it is a risk.

:V I didn't say I never would- just a loooooong time. If I get a gem card as a gift (which my family knows was a way to my heart) I won't have a problem using it- just none of my own money for a while.

[omgdracula.6345]

Don't be fooled by this guys and gals. This is a clever ploy within Anets marketing. They replied to calm the flames a bit but they are already planning how to fuck us the next time a set of skins comes out. I encourage everyone to stay on their toes and to look sharp.

Anet didn't hand us a single skin to earn in game. Nothing. We got absolutely nothing. Not a single skin earnable in game. Hell you don't even get a discount the higher amount of gems you buy.

These transactions aren't micro at all. $5 is a joke $25 is food for two weeks. If I could toss down a fiver and get 3-4 tries I would not say a word.

But I give you my 5 dollars and I can't do anything if I get a skin I hate. I am stuck with it.

I don't care if I go to a casino with $50 and end up losing 25, at least I can walk out with the other 25.

[Aelyn.7954]

@"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

• You get a brand-new, unique mount skin every time, for a substantial discount versus an individual purchase price.

Mike, it saddens me to say this, but there's nothing "brand-new" in about 10 out of 30 skins. Have you ever seen them with your own eyes? It's the same mounts, they just have different dye patterns. Here's an example (2 new skins + the default one): https://i.imgur.com/IE7lJHP.gif

A lot of people are complaining about Path of Fire being "unrewarding" - do you really think that it was a good idea to put all 30 mounts into this adoption system? It could've been just 25 instead of 30, with the other 5 added as a bunch of in-game rewards. This is what you did wrong. Not the price, not even the RNG.

[Mitzarin.3654]

Uninstalled the game. I will come back if you remove the RNG mounts from your store. This response was nothing more than an excuse. You changed nothing meaning you will still be praying on those who aren't able to say no to, "Maybe if I buy one more time..."

[Frostfang.5109]

Can we who have bought contracts already (And got skins we wont/cant use) get the ability to trade in any of our aquired skins ONCE for a skin of our choice? Please!

[Devildoc.6721]

@StaggerLee.6397 said:Is a mount skin being $5 really considered discounted?

Unfortunately yes if you compare it to similar items in other MMO's. WoW sells $25 mount skins and it's a subscription game. ESO has mounts between $9-$30. LotRO between $10-$25.

[Novus.1509]

A huge FU to the fans. Thanks for your sorry but not sorry message. I'll be making sure to spread the word that this game is toxic now and no one should play. Your sell out scheme will backfire when you realize you took a quick payday and killed off your game. Explain that to all the employees there that will have to find new jobs. GW 2 is ruined.

[Elyssa.8307]

You can't call it a microtransaction when the bundle costs twice as much as the game! Also, why have you not addressed the main issue e.g not a single one acquired through gameplay?

[zealex.9410]

@Aelyn.7954 said:

@"Mike O Brien.4613" said:

• You get a brand-new, unique mount skin every time, for a substantial discount versus an individual purchase price.

Mike, it saddens me to say this, but there's nothing "brand-new" in about 10 out of 30 skins. Have you ever seen them with your own eyes? It's the same mounts, they just have different dye patterns. Here's an example (2 new skins + the default one):

https://i.imgur.com/IE7lJHP.gif

A lot of people are complaining about Path of Fire being "unrewarding" - do you really think that it was a good idea to put all 30 mounts into this adoption system? It could've been just 25 instead of 30, with the other 5 added as a bunch of in-game rewards. This is what you did wrong. Not the price, not even the RNG.

They could be considered diff breeds as the quote suggests. But your point is valid.

[zealex.9410]

@Elyssa.8307 said:You can't call it a microtransaction when the bundle costs twice as much as the game! Also, why have you not addressed the main issue e.g not a single one acquired through gameplay?

Why? You are buying 30 diff skins why wouldnt that be exp? The microtransactions part is for the 1 on 1 purchase for those who want all of them theres a discounted but still high price.

[Talindra.4958]

I didn't like gamble, hence I bought the 30 pack bundle. there are half the skins there which I will never ever use. I felt that I am being forced to purchase a pack of stuff with some junk in it that I didn't want and had to pay for it. I absolutely adore some of the skins and that I must have it. but having to pay for the other skins which I didn't want I felt that I am being cheated. well people say if you don't like the system you don't take part of it. but it has the skins that I like and the fact that I had to pay all of it and being told yeah you are paying for 30 skins not 10 but really, I only will be using that 5 to 10 skins. what do I do with the others?yes I have invested the mount, but sadly I am not a happy customer tho. trying to still get over this sickly feeling.

[Penarddun.6827]

@Aelyn.7954 said:Mike, it saddens me to say this, but there's nothing "brand-new" in about 10 out of 30 skins. Have you ever seen them with your own eyes? It's the same mounts, they just have different dye patterns. Here's an example (2 new skins + the default one): https://i.imgur.com/IE7lJHP.gif

A lot of people are complaining about Path of Fire being "unrewarding" - do you really think that it was a good idea to put all 30 mounts into this adoption system? It could've been just 25 instead of 30, with the other 5 added as a bunch of in-game rewards. This is what you did wrong. Not the price, not even the RNG.

We're basically having to pay for a new dye job. What we once were able to customize ourselves with dye channels is being sold to us for money.

[Kapax.3801]

warhound skin= $ 25 :sCuphead= $ 19,99 (and they had to mortgage their house :o )

[Talindra.4958]

would appreciate some new mount skins even if it is ugly to be provided as part of a collection or a story line.. would love to see that as part of the game content not from Gem store. honestly... after this I felt really sick entirely anything to do with gemstore.Cheers

[Frostfang.5109]

• It uses a progressive mechanic. Every license gives you a new skin to use and increases the odds of

Some ppl CANT even use the skins they get due to not have unlocked the griffon!= 400 gems wasted for nothing!

[Ider.1276]

@Frostfang.5109 said:Can we who have bought contracts already (And got skins we wont/cant use) get the ability to trade in any of our aquired skins ONCE for a skin of our choice? Please!

Nooo. But you can buy more lootboxes! This time you will get lucky, I'm sure.

[eobet.4320]

Well, that's 30 mount skins I'm never going to get then.

But this PR speak is concerning, and feels disconnected from reality. Like someone feels they need to earn they paycheck when their entire position would be better off being eliminated.

[Oldirtbeard.9834]

@Novus.1509 said:A huge FU to the fans. Thanks for your sorry but not sorry message. I'll be making sure to spread the word that this game is toxic now and no one should play. Your sell out scheme will backfire when you realize you took a quick payday and killed off your game. Explain that to all the employees there that will have to find new jobs. GW 2 is ruined.

LMAO any one you talk to about this is just going to say its no different than half the other MMOS, just spend your money on none RNG stuff and enjoy the game. You remind me of a Necromancer.

[Deihnyx.6318]

A very honest and respectful answer, Thank you Mike.

I didn't have problem with this system personally (much better than BL keys) but I do understand why some people had it.

However one question remain: Are we going to get "legendary mount" skins obtainable in game?I think that would make your statement about your original intentions even more valuable.

Also Im curious to know, what are you going to do about seasonal account bound RNG items? Are they going to be removed too?

[Oldirtbeard.9834]

@Deihnyx.6318 said:A very honest and respectful answer, Thank you Mike.

I didn't have problem with this system personally (much better than BL keys) but I do understand why some people had it.

However one question remain: Are we going to get "legendary mount" skins obtainable in game?I think that would make your statement about your original intentions even more valuable.

Also Im curious to know, what are you going to do about seasonal account bound RNG items? Are they going to be removed too?

Probably for Raiders only with special trait lines added that would be specific for the new Raid Wings, in other words only something to enjoy if you play Mesmer, Ranger, Warrior, Elementalist, and Firebrand.

[Kentsui.4930]

A truly disappointing response to all this.If 400 gems is supposed to be a discounted price, I would really be curious to see the 'regular' price for one mount skin in the future ... because much above that and there is NO WAY I'm ever buying one.

[SansSariph.9548]

I've seen a lot of people defending the prices because in WoW mount skins are also expensive.

To them I say a few things:

• I have not bought a single mount in WoW because... turns out... they're overpriced, and that's ignoring the subscription. If they were cheaper I might be interested.
• 99% of mounts in WoW are obtainable in-game, and many are just as cool as the cash shop ones - no alternative skins in PoF are obtainable in-game. See also mount dye channels - one in-game versus four in-cash.
• It's not like PoF is even free - to take advantage of these new skins you're already guaranteed to be a paying ArenaNet customer. Mounts are just two months old and they're already asking $120 for this set of skins. And that's "discounted".

This gives me the same unpleasant feeling I've had about Hearthstone recently. I want to be a paying customer. I want to support the game. But most importantly, I want to feel good every time I open my wallet. The only time I feel good here is if I luck out and get a really unique skin with particle effects for $5. And that's only possible because multiple other people spend their $5 and don't get what they wanted. Everyone should feel good spending money to support this game. Every time. Without exception.

Losing a gamble feels bad. Mike seems to argue that you never "lose" - you always get a brand new skin! We all know that getting a skimmer skin with slight model updates is not the same as getting a griffon with particle effects. The player hoping for the griffon is going to be sad when they get a more simple skin for a mount they use less often.

The alternative - spending $120 - also feels bad because the price is nuts for what you are actually purchasing.

Don't make customers feel bad. They won't stay customers.

[Rose Solane.1027]

First of all, thanks for your reaction.

We made a commitment to you in March 2012 that we’d fund GW2 live development through non-pay-to-win microtransactions. We try different ideas, but we always hold true to that commitment.A very important commitment and I am glad you stick to it.

• At a time when there’s a lot of debate about random boxes in gaming, we should have anticipated that a new system with a random element would cause alarm.I am very happy you acknowledge this. And as the first point. Communication could have been much better.Here are some of the benefits we had in mind when designing the Mount Adoption License:

• You get a brand-new, unique mount skin every time, for a substantial discount versus an individual purchase price.

• It uses a progressive mechanic. Every license gives you a new skin to use and increases the odds of acquiring any remaining skins.

• You’ve requested variety, and this is a way to support variety. Individual sale is a mechanic that works with a few, flashy skins. Using a grab bag mechanic gives us leeway to create skins to suit a wide range of player tastes while offering a lower price per skin.You cleverly didn't say who benefits. This doesn't benefit the player, it benefits you, the company.

You introduced RNG in the microtransaction system. There you crossed the line. I don't care if it is a better system than lootboxes in other games, it is still a terrible system. The fact that I can use in-game gold to buy gems doesn't make it more acceptable. It only gives me the option to buy something in the gem store without paying RL money.

Although I am happy you gave a reaction I don't believe your decision to use a different system in the future has anything to do with the backlash in the forum and on other platforms (Reddit). I (and many others) said before that you (ArenaNet) are only looking at the sales figures (for gem store items). I assume you didn't make the profit you had planned for and realised that this system wasn't giving you the money you had hoped for. So I will repeat myself: Players, vote with your wallet, don't buy these mount adoption licenses. If ArenaNet doesn't make enough money with it they will try something else next time. Hopefully something better.