Gem prices of mounts!?

[Xperiment.6923]

Even with a 30% sale I'm still having a hard time splurging on mounts. I know there are ways to farm gold and turn it into gems, I'm not there yet with my time. If I've mathed it correctly each 100 gems is about 1 US dollar and 25 cents, when buying gems in the lowest denomination. So hard to believe a mount skins goes for roughly $14 to $20 when say an outfit goes for $8.75. For me my sweet spot must buy is probably $5 - $10. So for me buying things like bag space, bank slots and character expansions seem in the easier to justify. I know there is at least 1 random mount skin box for 400 gems. I wish I had all the mounts to justify that one. Maybe they need a random chest option for specific mounts, like here are some springer mounts.  Do others think mount skins are overpriced? Or I'm just doing it wrong?

[Sobx.1758]

Well then you can still focus on playing the game to acquire more mounts before rushing in for the mount skins that are purely cosmetic anyways.

17 minutes ago, Xperiment.6923 said:

Do others think mount skins are overpriced?

Some surely do. But judging by the amont of mount skins constantly seen in the game, many don't.

[Farohna.6247]

Depends on what brings you joy.  For me, I love my mount skins.  I do not buy them all, only ones that I will definitely use.  I prioritize bank slots, bag slots, etc as they are useful and not just cosmetic.  It's a free to play game, buying gem store items helps support it.  Some may be overpriced, subjectively. But for the amount of time I spend on them, I find them well worth the money 💜

[Noah Salazar.5430]

true, it's actualy  more worth to obtain gold ingame ratcher then buy gems to exchange it to gold

asuming you will get 25g per h, it will take you 24h to get skin (1200gems)

means if you play 3h per day it's 8d

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Noah Salazar.5430

[loregnum.3619]

I think mount skins and all other skins are overpriced for what they provide and my solution to that right now is to simply not acquire/buy them. I take this same stance in real life if I come across something I feel is overpriced. I just choose not to buy it rather than expect it to change to fit my view. Their gem pricing seems to be working for skins so you're not going to see them change it because you are upset by it.

Bonus here for me is I use my skyscale about 90% of the time and the best skin for it to me is the speckled shortfang which was included in that 10th anniversary freebie mount skin box they gave us last summer. It'd be nice to have a new skin for my beetle, skimmer, and griffon, yet I can wait until I have enough excess gold I won't mind blowing it on those or just go without since they only make up the other 10% of my use.

I'll also add the longer one has been playing, the less likely they care about this because they have thousands in gold and probably everything else they want so they can go and spend it on different skins/cosmetics. After a year of playing,  I'm personally getting to the point where I have most of the "useful" things I want so I can see myself in the future doing what I said above and using my gold on other mount skins.

[quake.9023]

if u play the game more, its easier and ull get alot of them. if u dont play, ill be like in your position, doing little and getin little. 

[Noah Salazar.5430]

6 minutes ago, loregnum.3619 said:

After a year of playing,  I'm personally getting to the point where I have most of the "useful" things I want so I can see myself in the future doing what I said above and using my gold on other mount skins.

After a year of not intensive playing i had around 10k gold

idk what to buy at this point, as i'm not into skins

Mmorpg is long term relationship, you will get evrythink over time, you pay only for speeding it out

Edited March 18, 2023 by Noah Salazar.5430

[EphemeralWallaby.7643]

51 minutes ago, Xperiment.6923 said:

 Do others think mount skins are overpriced? Or I'm just doing it wrong?

I think they're priced too high to collect a lot of, or to spend gems on them in a whim.  But, if you only play a few characters, and there is a mount skin aesthetic that matches those characters, or otherwise would be the skin you know you'd prefer to use, it can feel good to splurge.

 

~EpWa

[Noah Salazar.5430]

1 minute ago, EphemeralWallaby.7643 said:

I think they're priced too high to collect a lot of, or to spend gems on them in a whim.  But, if you only play a few characters, and there is a mount skin aesthetic that matches those characters, or otherwise would be the skin you know you'd prefer to use, it can feel good to splurge.

 

~EpWa

If you not doing anythink that brings you gold ingame then y

problem is, in this game whatever you do, game throwing bunsh of gold at you

 

even fishing is profitable xd

[costepj.5120]

1 hour ago, Xperiment.6923 said:

So hard to believe a mount skins goes for roughly $14 to $20 when say an outfit goes for $8.75. For me my sweet spot must buy is probably $5 - $10.

You are focussing on so called "premium skins", most of which I actively dislike. I got all my favourite skins through mount adoption licences. Oh and the Mad Realm Mounts pack. So a cost of 320 to 400 gems per skin; right in your budget range.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

As a subjective consideration, I don't consider mount skins to add sufficient value to my game experience to warrant the expense.  While I did buy one package a long time ago, I have avoided buying mount skins with that exception.  Again, "not worth it to me" is not the same as "overpriced."  

"Overpriced" as an objective consideration is a matter of what you can get similar items for elsewhere.  Other games have cosmetic mounts for sale in their cash shops.  Do some comparison shopping.  The last time I checked, GW2's mount skin prices were competitive with other games.  That may have changed, but since GW2 has neither changed skin prices nor gem prices, any change would be in GW2's favor.

Are you doing it wrong, OP?  Maybe.  "Costs too much" in the GW2 "gems for gold" setup is a function of time, not money.  Here's a couple of suggestions.

 

1) Be patient

2) Periodically check the gold to gems conversion rate.  When you have some gold surplus, and the rate is down in your favor, pick up gems even if there's nothing you want right then.  If you only buy when there are desirable items for sale, you will get less gems for your gold.

Edited March 18, 2023 by IndigoSundown.5419

[Gibson.4036]

For me the cost is absurd, which is why I only have the one anniversary mount skin. But I know a lot of people have more discretionary income than I do. I also tend to prioritize spending gems to remove the hassles that ArenaNet  has designed in like storage restrictions over cosmetics.

In GW2 I make a steady income, but not the kind of gold that leaves me with a couple thousand sitting around like people have said earlier in this thread. I also tend to prioritize utility, and am currently working on legendary armor, so gold gets spent.
 

Yes, you can make 25/hr in game, but not every activity makes that. I run metas from time to time, but also do other things that don’t bring in that kind of income.

Still, the fact that some people will throw $20 at one mount skin means I haven’t paid a subscription all these years, so I count that a win.

[Cuks.8241]

Its purely aesthetic so its really hard to say something is overpriced. People buy all sorts of things purely for aesthetics which might seem completely useless to me. 

Also as long as they sell, it's hard to say it's overpriced.

I don't really buy mount skins often. Bought a few and got a few through playing. And I hardly use them. I find the base skins much higher quality. The base skins, animations, effects are just really good. The skins from store just seem lower quality to me. Its either animations that don't fit the rig so well or the effects that seem a bit off or over done, sounds... 

The only thing I miss with the base skins is more dye channels. 

If the price seem steep to you and you decide to buy it make sure you preview the skin well (keep in mind you will look at the mount's butt 99% of the time). You could be disappointed.

[Noah Salazar.5430]

Quote

am currently working on legendary armor, so gold gets spent.  has designed in like storage restrictions

i'm doing fine with 6 full asc set, but i play 1 character, and rest 2 treats as bank, i skiped legendary armor as i not rly need it 

Quote

but also do other things that don’t bring in that kind of income.

daily i mostly do t4 fractals (16-22g), then dragonstorm(2-8g), ley-line anomaly(1,5g), wvw daily, and then fishing

weekly i do eod strikes+Forging steel(2,5g) , buy Summoning stones from npc (4) to sell on ah

 

in past i did auric bashin to farm ecto, drizwood to farm mats, Lake Doric to farm leather

i'm up to check new eod map yet once i find time, as saw it's kinda similar to drizwood

Edited March 18, 2023 by Noah Salazar.5430

[Cyninja.2954]

8 hours ago, Xperiment.6923 said:

Even with a 30% sale I'm still having a hard time splurging on mounts. 

Then don't.

8 hours ago, Xperiment.6923 said:

 Do others think mount skins are overpriced? Or I'm just doing it wrong?

Does it matter? Will this somehow change your decision? Chances are, if the studio doesn't change their pricing, they are happy with the revenue they generate which in turn means enough players must be spending money.

Edited March 18, 2023 by Cyninja.2954

[Danikat.8537]

I think the stand-alone mounts and select licences are too expensive, but I also won't spend gems on anything with a random outcome so I don't buy the 400 gem random licences. (With one exception where I used gold to buy all the Istani Isles mounts, but then it wasn't random because I got all the skins.)

So I only buy select licences when they're discounted and some of the 5-packs, and then only if I really like the skins. It means there's usually a long wait between a new skin being released and me getting it, but that often works out well because it gives me time to think about it, see what else is coming out and decide if I actually want it. (I've also gotten a few bundled with other things, mainly in the supply drop packages, and a couple of free skins.)

I haven't got many mount skins, but I originally wanted 2 for each mount (one which looks like the default skin but with 4 dye channels and one unique one) and I've got a lot more than that, but I do use all of them. (The best one for me was the bioluminescent skyscale, I used that on my main character as soon as I got it and I don't think I've changed it since.)
 

8 hours ago, Xperiment.6923 said:

Maybe they need a random chest option for specific mounts, like here are some springer mounts.

It's not random (you get all the skins in the pack) but there are some packs of skins for specific mounts: Cuckoo Springers, Vulpine Jackals, Canthan Griffons, Warclaws, Nian Warclaws, Skyscales, Canthan Skyscales & Siege Turtles.

There's also themed packs with skins for the original 5 mounts (raptor, springer, skimmer, jackal and griffon) where you're guarenteed to get all 5 skins together: Awakened, Branded, Winterday, Exo-Suit, Mad King's, Mad Realm, Shiverpeaks & Spooky.

The branded mounts are my personal favourite, I find they're very versatile. Depending on the dyes used they can be very colourful, or they can look like rock or elementals or almost look like spikier versions of the defaults. The Shiverpeaks mounts are a close second, they look like the normal mounts with (IMO very nice and detailed) armour and a mist effect which can be dyed to be almost invisible.

[Arianth Moonlight.6453]

yeah, never been able to buy a 2000 gems skin with gold, not even the 1600 ones. AND I HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF GOLD ON RANDOM GEMSTORE ITEMS!!!

however, I think the problem is that it's just skins. When it comes to "save" gold it's like "meh, I need this other useful item way more."

I bought the Synergetic Skins with money and it was worth it BUT I had the extra money to do it.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Arianth Moonlight.6453

[Noah Salazar.5430]

45 minutes ago, Arianth Moonlight.6453 said:

yeah, never been able to buy a 2000 gems skin with gold, not even the 1600 ones. AND I HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF GOLD ON RANDOM GEMSTORE ITEMS!!!

however, I think the problem is that it's just skins. When it comes to "save" gold it's like "meh, I need this other useful item way more."

I bought the Synergetic Skins with money and it was worth it BUT I had the extra money to do it.

how do you explain that then xd? did i rob a bank or smh?

https://imgur.com/YPbMaGo.png

in all my life i only paid for expansions 😆

Edited March 19, 2023 by Noah Salazar.5430

[Linken.6345]

47 minutes ago, Arianth Moonlight.6453 said:

yeah, never been able to buy a 2000 gems skin with gold, not even the 1600 ones. AND I HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF GOLD ON RANDOM GEMSTORE ITEMS!!!

however, I think the problem is that it's just skins. When it comes to "save" gold it's like "meh, I need this other useful item way more."

I bought the Synergetic Skins with money and it was worth it BUT I had the extra money to do it.

If you spent that much gold then yes you have been able to you chose to buy other things instead tho.

[Omega.6801]

Welcome to the world of capitalism.

[captrowdy.9561]

I don’t care. They skyscale skin that is like the undead one or whatever matches my reaper so well was worth whatever I spent. I don’t think the artists in this game get enough credit 

[Gehenna.3625]

On 3/18/2023 at 3:33 PM, Xperiment.6923 said:

Even with a 30% sale I'm still having a hard time splurging on mounts. I know there are ways to farm gold and turn it into gems, I'm not there yet with my time. If I've mathed it correctly each 100 gems is about 1 US dollar and 25 cents, when buying gems in the lowest denomination. So hard to believe a mount skins goes for roughly $14 to $20 when say an outfit goes for $8.75. For me my sweet spot must buy is probably $5 - $10. So for me buying things like bag space, bank slots and character expansions seem in the easier to justify. I know there is at least 1 random mount skin box for 400 gems. I wish I had all the mounts to justify that one. Maybe they need a random chest option for specific mounts, like here are some springer mounts.  Do others think mount skins are overpriced? Or I'm just doing it wrong?

Everybody has a sweetspot for spending, but they're not at the same price point. So some will find them overpriced and some won't. 

I'll give you two thoughts to consider:

1) Because this game allows you to conver gems to gold they want to set the prices for gem store items at a point where not everybody will do this or they won't make money at all. So that alone will make the prices at least somewhat higher. People shouldn't be encouraged to use gold to gem conversion too much. 

2) Economics is a funny thing. People tend to think that if the prices will be lower they will make more revenue but that's not always true. That's because people don't often think about what revenue is as opposed to sales. To give an example, let's say that a mount skin costs 1600 gems and at 1600 gems they'll sell 1000 copies of that mount skin. That means 1.6 million gems total. But if they lower the price to say 1000 gems and they would sell 1500 copies instead. But that will bring the total to 1.5 million gems. So that price point means higher sales but lower revenue. And that's not even taking point 1 into account.

Bottom line is that it's not as simple as some people might think for them to lower prices and I think that these two points illustrate that. 

For the record, I do think everything in the gem store is overpriced but that's the same for all MMOs that sell cosmetics through a cash shop. And yet I've spent a fair bit of money in the gem store. So it's up to you to decide whether the enjoyment of a skin is worth the money to you and whether your budget allows it. Look at it this way: if you like something a lot and it doesn't get you into financial trouble, then why not?

But if you don't like it enough for the 20 dollars you would spend on it and/or it does get you into financial trouble or uncomfortably close to it then don't. Just don't.

[Danikat.8537]

57 minutes ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Everybody has a sweetspot for spending, but they're not at the same price point. So some will find them overpriced and some won't.

That's a good point. There's some skins I wouldn't use even if I got them for free and wouldn't buy at any price. They could cost 1 gem and I wouldn't get them because I don't like them at all. At the other extreme there's at least one I paid over 1,000 gems for and several I got for about 900 gems (buying select licences when they're discounted). I know for a fact the skins I like include ones other players think are ugly or stupid or not interesting enough to justify the price, and some of the ones I don't like at all other people think are amazing.

How much I can afford to spend has varied as well. There was a year I didn't spend any real money on the game because I couldn't afford it, and I had to be much more selective about what I bought from the gem store because I didn't have that much gold either. Other times I've bought £20 worth of gems without really thinking about it. I know some people would consider that the equivalent of not really spending anything and routinely spend far, far more than me because they can afford to do so.

Anet couldn't make 1 mount skins everyone likes or set a price everyone thinks is reasonable, and I don't think they're trying to do either. Instead they're aiming for a variety of mounts at a variety of prices and hoping everyone will find something in the mix they'll pay for.

[disco.9302]

On 3/18/2023 at 2:33 PM, Xperiment.6923 said:

Do others think mount skins are overpriced? Or I'm just doing it wrong?

You're doing it wrong 

[jamesg.7128]

I just buy the mount adoption licenses when on sale. Sure they're random but you can get 3 or 4 for the price of one select or exclusive and some are just as good. Plus there's bigger discounts when buying 5 or 10. Just be selective with what set you pick. I bought 10 of the Canthan Menagerie recently.