Going To Ember Bay (200 gems)

[IndigoSundown.5419]

The fact is that ANet essentially gives DLC content for free. This includes any new maps in those releases. That's the way they package the releases. There are no requirements other than buying the prior XPac, and logging in. This business practice is unusual in the MMO industry. ESO, for example, either sells its DLC (which usually includes new maps) or rents them to "subscribers." Either way, there is a cost for every release and its maps. The cost for a DLC or the rental fee are quite a bit higher than the fee for a LS chapter.

Now, maybe there are free-to-play games that give new maps away. If so, they make money some other way, whether everyone pays, or just some of the players. I also wonder whether they are worth playing, as every one I've tried was not.

I regularly see people complaining about having to buy a LS release when they did not qualify for free access. When I do, I think, "This is the price for giving something away." When people see someone else get a freebie, they think they should get it, too, even if they don't meet the required conditions. I guess this is human nature. I guess it's also human nature for me to wonder whether the complainers ever comparison shop. I somehow think not.

[Cobrakon.3108]

its very possible to make 30g an hour, meaning @ 120g per 400 gems that would be only 2 hours of farming for 60. Also how many laurels/mats/mystic tokens etc you have in your bank? T6 mats from laurel vendor can add up to a good amount of gold. You also have more than one account so you have quite a bit of gold coming in from dailies and log in rewards.

[Obtena.7952]

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

[Etria.3642]

I'm still curious to know why the ban for so long.

[Cyninja.2954]

@zionophir.6845 said:

@Graymalkyn.8076 said:

@zionophir.6845 said:

@Graymalkyn.8076 said:You can buy 800 gems for $10. That makes 200 gems = $2.50. You can't even get a mediocre fast food burger for that.

i've farmed gold for 11 Black Lion Keys by changing gold to gems (coz i wanted something unique to do) so 50 gold is not even a problem.

the reason that i posted that is that access to new maps must be on the fly and not GATED as long as you have expansions. They can gem Gate the other LS episodes, which is not a problem to me.

I see. So it's ok to gem gate what you don't care about, but by god, they need to open up what you do want?

Seriously, tho, what you are asking for is akin to saying " I have a [gas station X] card, and I put gas in my first car, so the gas in my second car should be free."

do i friggin sound selfish here? am i only the one who bought HoT late?

kitten. lel.

and as i've said, different accounts are not linked. so what was been unlocked in my main cannot be linked to the other and carry over the unlocks (what have you pushing and stressing is akin to that if i unlocked Eternity on my main, there should be a mechanism to be unlocked it in the other account, lel.), except that the other must ACCESS the NEW MAPS without GATING.

Buying HoT late had nothing to do with Living World episodes being locked for you.

Even if you do NOT own the relevant expansion, Living World Episodes ALWAYS unlock for free IF you login while they were released. You simple lack the ability to access their content without the expansions. Once you buy the expansion, even if a lot later, all unlocked Living World Episodes become accessible.

There is 2 factors which need to be met to be able to play Living World Episodes:

• the relevant episode needs to be unlocked: happens free of charge if the account is logged in during its release window of 2-3 months (no matter if the account has the relevant expansion), or at a purchase price of 200 gems without discounts after.
• the account needs to have the relevant expansion unlocked

You get access to which ever maps the developers see fit. If they decide to lock maps behind Living World Episodes to ensure a certain amount of monetization, then that is their prerogative.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It is the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

[Dami.5046]

@MoriMoriMori.5349 said:What others seems to miss is that topic starter has mentioned that he already have those LS episodes unlocked on his main account. And now is forced to buy them again at his 2nd account. Now, this doesn't really make much sense, even with all considerations given. Why should he pay twice?

I've got two accounts and I paid twice. \o

[Maikimaik.1974]

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

You have to think the other way around.LS episodes are not free. Each episode costs a total of 200 gems ($2.50, which is less than many people pay for their coffee each day), but Anet is giving them away as GIFTS to players who are actively playing the game. LS episodes cost 200 gems, but receive a 100% discount for a few months after their release.

[Bollocks.4078]

@Cyninja.2954 said:

Buying HoT late had nothing to do with Living World episodes being locked for you.

That's only true if HoT was added to a pre-existing account. I'm guessing OP bought HoT for a new account after it was too late to unlock episodes. OP would have to confirm if that's correct. I'm not saying that changes anything, just pointing out that when they bought HoT actually might have something to do with it.

[zionophir.6845]

@Bollocks.4078 said:

@Cyninja.2954 said:

Buying HoT late had nothing to do with Living World episodes being locked for you.

That's only true if HoT was added to a pre-existing account. I'm guessing OP bought HoT for a new account after it was too late to unlock episodes. OP would have to confirm if that's correct. I'm not saying that changes anything, just pointing out that when they bought HoT actually might have something to do with it.

i already said like ~three times in the thread that i bought HoT LATE for my OTHER account so i get it that ALL the HoT LS's in that account are locked.

what i am saying/griping/almost suggesting is that NEW MAPS (from expansions/LS) must not be gated since expansions eventually lead to the LS to carry on with the story. yes, the LS is another way to gain profits but the gating of EXPLORABLE maps within the LS must be reconsidered.

[Dami.5046]

No. It's tough. I missed a few seasons and had to pay and when I brought ANOTHER account I had to buy almost everything. It's no different to not been able to use the other accounts warehouse or gear.And considering Anet aren't going to suddenly back down on this.So I have no idea why people think they are a special case.

[ugrakarma.9416]

@MoriMoriMori.5349 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:The content is unlocked PER ACCOUNT.No matter how many times you will re-state that fact, it won't make it less nonsensical, or less grabby as a business model.

if he want pay services as one person hes just to have created one account, not two. hes asked for it, hes got whats he want, 2 accounts, 2 persons, pay twice. i wonder if its even possible link 2 accounts to same email.

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

@zionophir.6845 said:

@"kitten.4078" said:

@Cyninja.2954 said:

Buying HoT late had nothing to do with Living World episodes being locked for you.

That's only true if HoT was added to a pre-existing account. I'm guessing OP bought HoT for a new account after it was too late to unlock episodes. OP would have to confirm if that's correct. I'm not saying that changes anything, just pointing out that when they bought HoT actually might have something to do with it.

i already said like ~three times in the thread that i bought HoT LATE for my OTHER account so i get it that ALL the HoT LS's in that account are locked.

what i am saying/griping/almost suggesting is that NEW MAPS (from expansions/LS) must not be gated since expansions eventually lead to the LS to carry on with the story. yes, the LS is another way to gain profits but the gating of EXPLORABLE maps within the LS must be reconsidered.

Yeah, but what you keep ignoring is the fact that when you bought HoT DOES. NOT. MATTER. My sister-in-law had HoT on her account before Season 3 dropped. She failed to login while 3 of the season 3 episodes were live, so she had to buy them to play them. Guess what? She still hasn't bought PoF, but she has been playing the game consistently enough to unlock every Season 4 episode on her account. She can't access them until she buys PoF, but she won't have to buy Season 4 when, or if, she ever buys that expansion.

You bought multiple accounts and just didn't bother to login to more than one in a timely fashion. That is all, ALL, on you and not on Anet.

For the record, I have two accounts. I have purchased both HoT and PoF on both of them. And, because I missed it, I've paid gems to buy Season 2 on both of them. And I bought my brother PoF for his birthday.

My advice? First, stop doing things to get banned. Second, login to your alt accounts more often. I hit both of my accounts every day. At the same time even.

[robertthebard.8150]

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

It shouldn't be all that mind boggling to anyone that doesn't expect to get everything ever released for free because they bought X. What is included is clearly laid out when you make the purchase, so the only way someone would be expecting extra stuff would be feeling like they are entitled to it. The map in question here comes from a certain LS release, not from the expansion. That has been laid out, and explained. The OP is complaining because they feel like they should be able to access content, a map, in this case, that they haven't purchased on the account in question. I, for example, didn't make the release dates for LS2 or 3. I had to purchase both if I wanted to gain access to both the stories tied to them, and the associated maps. I wasn't confused by this concept, it made perfect sense to me: If I had been playing at the time of their release, I could have gotten them for free. I wasn't, and so I have to pay full market price for them, unless I caught them during a sale.

Rewards are not entitlements. Getting the LS for free was a reward for being logged in during the release windows of each part. If I create another account tomorrow, I won't be entitled to anything but whatever comes with what I purchase for that account. The same as what has happened with this account, which didn't meet the criteria for getting LS 2 and 3 for free. This is an uncommon move, but one that should be applauded, not condemned. It rewards active players with free stuff. In other games, this would be applauded as the best move ever, but here, it seems like it's a criminal thing, at least according to the OP. The complaint is, after all, that they don't have access to content that they haven't purchased, on the account in question.

[Bollocks.4078]

@zionophir.6845 said:

@"kitten.4078" said:

@"Cyninja.2954" said:

Buying HoT late had nothing to do with Living World episodes being locked for you.

That's only true if HoT was added to a pre-existing account. I'm guessing OP bought HoT for a new account after it was too late to unlock episodes. OP would have to confirm if that's correct. I'm not saying that changes anything, just pointing out that when they bought HoT actually might have something to do with it.

i already said like ~three times in the thread that i bought HoT LATE for my OTHER account so i get it that ALL the HoT LS's in that account are locked.

what i am saying/griping/almost suggesting is that NEW MAPS (from expansions/LS) must not be gated since expansions eventually lead to the LS to carry on with the story. yes, the LS is another way to gain profits but the gating of EXPLORABLE maps within the LS must be reconsidered.

It's not about when you bought HoT. What you haven't said is when you actually created that account. If you had created an account, even a F2P account, a while back you could have unlocked the episodes. Seems like people are assuming you added HoT to an existing account. I suspect you created the account when you bought HoT. If that's the case then that's what you need to clarify or this broken record of "you should have logged in to unlock the episodes" will continue.

So, did you fail to log in and unlock the episodes or did you create the account too late to even have the opportunity?

[Obtena.7952]

@"Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.2946" said:My advice? First, stop doing things to get banned. Second, login to your alt accounts more often. I hit both of my accounts every day. At the same time even.

Seriously ... isn't the whole point of owning a second account to log into it every day for the free loots? Why own a second account if you aren't doing that?

[Blude.6812]

@Obtena.7952 said:

@"Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.2946" said:My advice? First, stop doing things to get banned. Second, login to your alt accounts more often. I hit both of my accounts every day. At the same time even.

Seriously ... isn't the whole point of owning a second account to log into it every day for the free loots? Why own a second account if you aren't doing that?

I would hazard a guess that the ban of that length would have been a result of something serious like buying/using and or selling gold to save or make some money outside of Anets specific rules and is now complaining that real gems/money is needed. Now requesting freebies to compensate.

[joneirikb.7506]

@zionophir.6845 said:

i already said like ~three times in the thread that i bought HoT LATE for my OTHER account so i get it that ALL the HoT LS's in that account are locked.

what i am saying/griping/almost suggesting is that NEW MAPS (from expansions/LS) must not be gated since expansions eventually lead to the LS to carry on with the story. yes, the LS is another way to gain profits but the gating of EXPLORABLE maps within the LS must be reconsidered.

Basically you're well aware that maps are currently a part of Living Season episodes, but you think it shouldn't be ?

If so, I'd say the topic and initial post did a poor job of explaining that.

Either way, I don't see ANet changing this, but you're free to suggest it of course.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

@Maikimaik.1974 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

You have to think the other way around.LS episodes are not free. Each episode costs a total of 200 gems ($2.50, which is less than many people pay for their coffee each day), but Anet is giving them away as GIFTS to players who are actively playing the game. LS episodes cost 200 gems, but receive a 100% discount for a few months after their release.

I completely understand. I still don't think, that it is a good idea. Especially for new players. This is a turn-off. Imagine you had to pay for parts of the main story in any game after you purchased it with all its expansions? And it shows; otherwise this wouldn't emerge from time to time in this forum.

[Obtena.7952]

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Maikimaik.1974 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

You have to think the other way around.LS episodes are not free. Each episode costs a total of 200 gems ($2.50, which is less than many people pay for their coffee each day), but Anet is giving them away as GIFTS to players who are actively playing the game. LS episodes cost 200 gems, but receive a 100% discount for a few months after their release.

I completely understand. I still don't think, that it is a good idea. Especially for new players. This is a turn-off. Imagine you had to pay for parts of the main story in any game after you purchased it with all its expansions? And it shows; otherwise this wouldn't emerge from time to time in this forum.

I don't get it ... why is it a turn off if it's the expectation for how it works? Again, there shouldn't be some philosophy that paying for content is some 'weird' or unreasonable thing to do. That's how the entitled think .. .they should just get things ... because they are who they are or something unrelated that they did.

It's free as a loyalty reward ... it's not the Expectation that it's free for everyone to being with. It's free if you 'keep up' with logging in ... a minimal requirement to begin with.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

@robertthebard.8150 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

It shouldn't be all that mind boggling to anyone that doesn't expect to get everything ever released for free because they bought X. What is included is clearly laid out when you make the purchase, so the only way someone would be expecting extra stuff would be feeling like they are entitled to it. The map in question here comes from a certain LS release, not from the expansion. That has been laid out, and explained. The OP is complaining because they feel like they should be able to access content, a map, in this case, that they haven't purchased on the account in question. I, for example, didn't make the release dates for LS2 or 3. I had to purchase both if I wanted to gain access to both the stories tied to them, and the associated maps. I wasn't confused by this concept, it made perfect sense to me: If I had been playing at the time of their release, I could have gotten them for free. I wasn't, and so I have to pay full market price for them, unless I caught them during a sale.

Rewards are not entitlements. Getting the LS for free was a reward for being logged in during the release windows of each part. If I create another account tomorrow, I won't be entitled to anything but whatever comes with what I purchase for that account. The same as what has happened with this account, which didn't meet the criteria for getting LS 2 and 3 for free. This is an uncommon move, but one that should be applauded, not condemned. It rewards active players with free stuff. In other games, this would be applauded as the best move ever, but here, it seems like it's a criminal thing, at least according to the OP. The complaint is, after all, that they don't have access to content that they haven't purchased, on the account in question.

C'mon, be honest with yourself. You just try to help Anet here. At least that's what I feel. No, it makes no sense and I don't get why almost every heavy forum poster is always helping them. I have - contrary to many others - only a few complaints about this game. I almost never complain, but this is beyond my understanding. I also had never to pay since I always log in during these releases although I mostly quit playing. I also spent a ton of real money, I like to pay and contribute to this company, not that you think I am shy of paying.

[Glacial.9516]

@zionophir.6845 said:

i already said like ~three times in the thread that i bought HoT LATE for my OTHER account so i get it that ALL the HoT LS's in that account are locked.

what i am saying/griping/almost suggesting is that NEW MAPS (from expansions/LS) must not be gated since expansions eventually lead to the LS to carry on with the story. yes, the LS is another way to gain profits but the gating of EXPLORABLE maps within the LS must be reconsidered.Would it make more sense to you if they bumped up the price of HoT and PoF by $10 and bundled LS3 and LS4 respectively with them? That would save you around $2 compared to buying the expansion and the season separately, but it also makes the expansions less accessible because the up-front cost is higher, especially for players who may not even play LS3 and LS4 (or who may prefer to buy them with gold). This also creates a nightmare when players already own parts of the LS or the season is still in progress.

[ProtoGunner.4953]

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Maikimaik.1974 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

You have to think the other way around.LS episodes are not free. Each episode costs a total of 200 gems ($2.50, which is less than many people pay for their coffee each day), but Anet is giving them away as GIFTS to players who are actively playing the game. LS episodes cost 200 gems, but receive a 100% discount for a few months after their release.

I completely understand. I still don't think, that it is a good idea. Especially for new players. This is a turn-off. Imagine you had to pay for parts of the main story in any game after you purchased it with all its expansions? And it shows; otherwise this wouldn't emerge from time to time in this forum.

I don't get it ... why is it a turn off if it's the expectation for how it works? Again, there shouldn't be some philosophy that paying for content is some 'weird' or unreasonable thing to do. That's how the entitled think .. .they should just get things ... because they are who they are or something unrelated that they did.

It's free as a loyalty reward ... it's not the Expectation that it's free for everyone to being with. It's free if you 'keep up' with logging in ... a minimal requirement to begin with.

Try to sugarcoat as you want, it is against everything I know in the whole gameindustry for like 25 years now. Especially if you buy expansions etc. They should at least add this stuff to fill the gaps of the story before and between the expansions. No really, holy crap guys REALLY. I can ask everyone here in my office and they would wonder, but no, not in this forum. Anyway, time to move on. I made my point clear and the rest of the forum their point. We still get along and I love the community :wink:

[Rasimir.6239]

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Maikimaik.1974 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@Obtena.7952 said:

@ProtoGunner.4953 said:

@"zionophir.6845" said:So after all the wvwvwing and pvping, i decided to do some pve and i wanted to go to Ember Bay. But the easiest i know to go there is completing a Living Story Episode.

and it costs 200 gems to unlock.

On my main account, all the LS stories of HoT and PoF are unlocked. the account that i used to get the Screenshot also has HoT and PoF but i bought the expansions late so i have to buy the LS 's with Gems. Why is this So?

So how to go to Ember Bay? and why the LS's are prized with gems? i already have the expansions.

Welcome to the kitten monetisation of GW2.

Oh yeah .. how evil!!!! PAYING for things. Imagine how awesome it would be to not pay for anything (and live in caves, huddled around a fire and beat your dinner with a wooden club too!!)

Let's get off the sensationalism here. Do you WANT to pay a monthly fee for this game ... or see this game cease to exist altogether? If you do, keep thinking that way.

It's free if you log in, but if you don't it's not. It is uncommon. In most other MMOs you get such stuff anyways. People don't understand it. Yes, it's free to play and you can change gems to gold etc. But still, it is a very bad move and it's very mind boggling for most players. Imagine a new player buying all the expansions and then the game asks for 2000 or whatever gems for all the mini episodes. That's just plain stupid decision and leaves a bad aftertaste. And we talk not about some additional side-missions etc. It

is

the main story actually.

Oh and btw. I was never a victim of this, since I logged in everytime they released a new LS.

You have to think the other way around.LS episodes are not free. Each episode costs a total of 200 gems ($2.50, which is less than many people pay for their coffee each day), but Anet is giving them away as GIFTS to players who are actively playing the game. LS episodes cost 200 gems, but receive a 100% discount for a few months after their release.

I completely understand. I still don't think, that it is a good idea. Especially for new players. This is a turn-off. Imagine you had to pay for parts of the main story in any game after you purchased it with all its expansions? And it shows; otherwise this wouldn't emerge from time to time in this forum.

I don't get it ... why is it a turn off if it's the expectation for how it works? Again, there shouldn't be some philosophy that paying for content is some 'weird' or unreasonable thing to do. That's how the entitled think .. .they should just get things ... because they are who they are or something unrelated that they did.

It's free as a loyalty reward ... it's not the Expectation that it's free for everyone to being with. It's free if you 'keep up' with logging in ... a minimal requirement to begin with.

Try to sugarcoat as you want, it

is

against everything I know in the whole gameindustry for like 25 years now. Especially if you buy expansions etc. They should at least add this stuff to fill the gaps of the story before and between the expansions. No really, holy kitten guys REALLY. I can ask everyone here in my office and they would wonder, but no, not in this forum. Anyway, time to move on. I made my point clear and the rest of the forum their point. We still get along and I love the community :wink:How much of the gaming industry do you actually know?

I've recently played a bit of ESO, and guess what? Trying to play through the different storylines, I bump against DLC borders regularly (e.g. going from Morrowind story to Clockwork City) and either have to cough up more real world money to buy the next DLC (which includes both map access and story access, just like the GW2 living world episodes) or pay for a subscription to rent temporary access to the DLC (and hope to have enough time to play through before my subscription runs out again).

Last time I went back to LotRO, I found that the game had evolved past several expansions as well as mid-expansion DLCs, which (just like ESO and GW2) again gated story and map access unless I bought them (or, like ESO, rented them via optional subscription). Other games like WoW even require subscription no matter if it's a DLC or a fullsize expansion (whatever "fullsize" means), thus making payment mandatory.

GW2 hands out their DLC (and a living world episode with map and story is no more and no less than a DLC in similar games) for free to a part of their players that meet specific criteria, which is in fact what sets them apart from similar games that require payment (either for subscription or unlock) no matter what you do, without care for any gaps in the story. That's not sugarcoating, that's simple fact.

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

@Obtena.7952 said:

@"Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.2946" said:My advice? First, stop doing things to get banned. Second, login to your alt accounts more often. I hit both of my accounts every day. At the same time even.

Seriously ... isn't the whole point of owning a second account to log into it every day for the free loots? Why own a second account if you aren't doing that?

Yeah, that's one of the points of an alt. My alt was a gift and I now have several characters on it that I like to play, too, but the original idea was to use it to make gold to help with the guild hall upgrades - I've basically solo'd our guild hall from level 20 to 53 (the only thing really holding me up is PvP reward potions now, and 9 more shovels).

I do wonder about the original poster though, from reading some of his comments, it looks to me like he made multiple accounts because he expected to get at least a temporary ban on his main at some point. You don't go into a game expecting a ban unless you go in with the intent of breaking the rules. Maybe I am mistaken, but that's the way I'm interpreting a couple of his comments in this thread.