Why are skyscale skins in a separate pack?

[Zaklex.6308]

@Emberfoot.6847 said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@TheNecrosanct.4028 said:

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

^This.

ANet recently released a set of mount adoption licenses, barely 2 months ago by now. So they would either have to introduce yet another set, for all mounts. Or they could release a Skyscale only set so people have more options to choose from until the next mount adoption license comes out, which will more than likely contain Skyscale skins as well. Makes perfect sense, to be honest, and I expected them to go this route for the first set of Skyscale skins. They didn't do it with the Roller Beetle because there weren't that many mount skins released yet (only 2 sets were released by then), and a new set was already planned (it was released a month after the Roller Beetle was introduced). Right now we have 5 sets, and the next one is not likely to be released before the summer is over. This is just so people don't have to wait so long for new Skyscale skins.

As @Haleydawn.3764 and @TheNecrosanct.4028 both stated, this is a catch up bundle for those that have obtained the Skyscale and in all honesty if anyone would just put a minimum of thought into it before commenting you'd see it makes complete sense to do it this way(especially since we just had older sets on sale within the last 2 months).

I have to say I disagree for one small reason: they added a branded skin in. This means my previously complete set of branded mounts for 1600gems will now cost me another 2000 for one more.

@VDAC.2137 said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:As @Haleydawn.3764 and @TheNecrosanct.4028 both stated, this is a catch up bundle for those that have obtained the Skyscale and in all honesty if anyone would just put a minimum of thought into it before commenting you'd see it makes complete sense to do it this way(especially since we just had older sets on sale within the last 2 months).

To me, that only makes sense for those who like to collect a lot of mount skins. I only buy premium skins I really like, mount selects and the occasional mount RNG license on sale. I only have 1-3 skins for each mount, so you can see that a pack like this does not appeal to players such as myself. If all mount skins were available individually (packs are a discount if you want the whole set) or were tradeable (I’d buy this for the skins I like and knowing I’d be able to get a nice chunk of gold for the branded skin that so many others want, for instance), then I think everyone would be reasonably happy.

Consider this, what if you have more than 5 characters, or more than 10...I would think that a lot of people with multiple characters would like multiple skins for their mounts so that each character can have unique mount skins.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

Gryphon was included in licenses because it came out at the same time as other mounts. However the beetle was included in newer licenses. Warclaw had a bundle and now Skyscale. Guess it depends on newer mounts and that Warclaw sold a lot despite it being a mount exclusive to a game mode a small fraction of the player base touches. Very much like Skyscale isn't going to be acquired by the majority of players.

[Emberfoot.6847]

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@Emberfoot.6847 said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@TheNecrosanct.4028 said:

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

^This.

ANet recently released a set of mount adoption licenses, barely 2 months ago by now. So they would either have to introduce yet another set, for all mounts. Or they could release a Skyscale only set so people have more options to choose from until the next mount adoption license comes out, which will more than likely contain Skyscale skins as well. Makes perfect sense, to be honest, and I expected them to go this route for the first set of Skyscale skins. They didn't do it with the Roller Beetle because there weren't that many mount skins released yet (only 2 sets were released by then), and a new set was already planned (it was released a month after the Roller Beetle was introduced). Right now we have 5 sets, and the next one is not likely to be released before the summer is over. This is just so people don't have to wait so long for new Skyscale skins.

As @Haleydawn.3764 and @TheNecrosanct.4028 both stated, this is a catch up bundle for those that have obtained the Skyscale and in all honesty if anyone would just put a minimum of thought into it before commenting you'd see it makes complete sense to do it this way(especially since we just had older sets on sale within the last 2 months).

I have to say I disagree for one small reason: they added a branded skin in. This means my previously complete set of branded mounts for 1600gems will now cost me another 2000 for one more.

@VDAC.2137 said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:As @Haleydawn.3764 and @TheNecrosanct.4028 both stated, this is a catch up bundle for those that have obtained the Skyscale and in all honesty if anyone would just put a minimum of thought into it before commenting you'd see it makes complete sense to do it this way(especially since we just had older sets on sale within the last 2 months).

To me, that only makes sense for those who like to collect a lot of mount skins. I only buy premium skins I really like, mount selects and the occasional mount RNG license on sale. I only have 1-3 skins for each mount, so you can see that a pack like this does not appeal to players such as myself. If all mount skins were available individually (packs are a discount if you want the whole set) or were tradeable (I’d buy this for the skins I like and knowing I’d be able to get a nice chunk of gold for the branded skin that so many others want, for instance), then I think everyone would be reasonably happy.

Consider this, what if you have more than 5 characters, or more than 10...I would think that a lot of people with multiple characters would like multiple skins for their mounts so that each character can have unique mount skins.

I have capped on chars on the acct and still think its a bit of a rip.

[Linken.6345]

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@Emberfoot.6847 said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@TheNecrosanct.4028 said:

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

^This.

ANet recently released a set of mount adoption licenses, barely 2 months ago by now. So they would either have to introduce yet another set, for all mounts. Or they could release a Skyscale only set so people have more options to choose from until the next mount adoption license comes out, which will more than likely contain Skyscale skins as well. Makes perfect sense, to be honest, and I expected them to go this route for the first set of Skyscale skins. They didn't do it with the Roller Beetle because there weren't that many mount skins released yet (only 2 sets were released by then), and a new set was already planned (it was released a month after the Roller Beetle was introduced). Right now we have 5 sets, and the next one is not likely to be released before the summer is over. This is just so people don't have to wait so long for new Skyscale skins.

As @Haleydawn.3764 and @TheNecrosanct.4028 both stated, this is a catch up bundle for those that have obtained the Skyscale and in all honesty if anyone would just put a minimum of thought into it before commenting you'd see it makes complete sense to do it this way(especially since we just had older sets on sale within the last 2 months).

I have to say I disagree for one small reason: they added a branded skin in. This means my previously complete set of branded mounts for 1600gems will now cost me another 2000 for one more.

@VDAC.2137 said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:As @Haleydawn.3764 and @TheNecrosanct.4028 both stated, this is a catch up bundle for those that have obtained the Skyscale and in all honesty if anyone would just put a minimum of thought into it before commenting you'd see it makes complete sense to do it this way(especially since we just had older sets on sale within the last 2 months).

To me, that only makes sense for those who like to collect a lot of mount skins. I only buy premium skins I really like, mount selects and the occasional mount RNG license on sale. I only have 1-3 skins for each mount, so you can see that a pack like this does not appeal to players such as myself. If all mount skins were available individually (packs are a discount if you want the whole set) or were tradeable (I’d buy this for the skins I like and knowing I’d be able to get a nice chunk of gold for the branded skin that so many others want, for instance), then I think everyone would be reasonably happy.

Consider this, what if you have more than 5 characters, or more than 10...I would think that a lot of people with multiple characters would like multiple skins for their mounts so that each character can have unique mount skins.

Or people are like me and use the same mount skins but diffrent colours for each profession.

[Turkeyspit.3965]

There are definitely players out there who are upset about this, but I imagine also, there are players like me who already have their BIS skin for every mount, so I wouldn't want to then have to gamble 400 gems in hopes of snagging a Skyscale. I likely instead would have spent 1200 gems to select the one skin I liked, but this way, I spent 2000 gems and got 3 skins I liked.

The only 'solution' that would have made every player happy would be if ANET switched to just selling the mount skins individually at 400 gems each, but I suspect we are long past that point, as that is something the community has screamed about since the 1st adoption license was released. Somewhere there are MBAs that determined this was the most effective means of monetizing these skins. Are they right? People will have differing opinions, but the Gem Store keeps GW2 in the black as it where, so something is working...

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Mike O'Brien addressed why Mount Skins are offered at 400 Gems each (for choosing just the one you want).

[SkyFallsInThunder.8257]

Making a bundle of skins for 2k gems and not selling skins individually or even through the awful licence RNG system is just a cash-grabbing move. So players have now a choice: either the fairy dragon, or the 5-pack of average skins at best. All for gems ofc, since earning stuff in this game by in-game progression is definitely out of the question. And it will be a long while before other skyscale skins are put in the game, so better settle for one of these.

I myself bought the pack and the skins are nothing to write home about. But I thoroughly dislike the fairy dragon (I can see it is a special skin with unique design that might appeal to many, just not to me), so this was kinda my only option. RIP 650 gold I guess, but at least my skyscale looks moderately shiny.

I wonder if the base skins of mounts have so poor dye channels on purpose, while the gem store skins dye so well. It couldn't be on purpose... could it?!

[Turkeyspit.3965]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/7g9hin/mike_obriens_response_to_the_2000_gem_store_mount/

What our data shows is that higher-priced flashy individual items can work, and lower-average-price-per-item bundles can work, but lower-priced individual items generally don’t generate meaningful revenue to support the game. And the whole point of these items is to support the game.

That supposedly is the answer, though I have to say, I disagree. When I think of "lower-priced individual items", I'm thinking of https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Aviator_Sunglassesorhttps://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Fuzzy_Quaggan_Hat

How do those compare to https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Starscale ?

I'm to believe that had the Starscale raptor skin been available separately for 400gems, it wouldn't have sold like crazy?

I can agree that lower priced non flashy individual items won't be as revenue generating, but I think mount skins are the exception to that rule.

More likely in my opinion, this isn't about low priced individual items not generating enough revenue, but that they determined mount packs would generate MORE revenue overall than if they had released them as individual items.

But, then of course

And the whole point of these items is to support the game.

So while I've always felt that Gem Store items are pricey, that you can purchase them with gems acquired with in game gold, and that these purchases are what helps fund future free content, I maintain that this is a fair system that does the job.

[Danikat.8537]

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

I agree. I don't know if it's a good idea or not, but I think that is why they did it.

I also agree with the people who are saying no matter what Anet does someone will be unhappy, unless they sold all skins individually at a fixed price which they've already said they are not willing to do.

I did buy the skyscale pack, but I'd still have preferred a method that allowed us to choose just the skins we wanted. It's lucky that in this case I wanted at least 3 of the skins (and I'll probably end up using all of them) so for me it was worth getting, but the warclaw pack had exactly the same design and that one I decided was too expensive for me because I only like 2 of the skins.

[Teratus.2859]

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

This.

If the one thing you really want is a Warclaw Skin or Skyscale skin because you only have the default but they are locked behind a RNG licence so you buy around 4 licences and end up unlocking only springers and skimmers then you would understandably be annoyed.

These bulk packs are like Haleydawn said, catch up bundles that guarantee you get a handful of skins for a specific mount to avoid having to rely on any RNG element.

Going forward with new licence packs I expect they will add more Skyscales and Warclaws to the general mix like they did with Beelte, although keep in mind that each new mount they add to the game will make that RNG element worse.More skins there are in a set the less likely you are to get the one you want when you buy the random licence.

I am in agreement with people around themed sets though, as I posted in another thread I am actively collecting the branded mount skins for one of my characters which has so far required me to buy the Branded Mounts pack, the Warclaw pack and the Skyscale pack to obtain all 7 available skins.Still waiting for a Branded Beetle skin to complete that btw Anet hint hint ;)

I do think that the branded Warclaw and Skyscale skins should be made available in the Branded Mounts pack, more so themed sets like that should also discount per every unlocked skin you already own as well.So if you previously bought a Branded set then buying it again for the Skyscale and Warclaw skins should already take into consideration the 5 other skins you've already unlocked and discount the pack by 400 gems per mount.. ergo the 2000 gem pack becomes 800 the second time around.Likewise each mount added to it would increase the price by 400 gems.. but with the above discount system in place it wouldn't be as big of a deal since if 2800 gems is way too much for a themed set, you could always buy RNG licences, unlock a few of them individually and then buy the themed bundle to complete it at a later date for a lower price.

I think that would be very fair, and a lot of people would be ok with something like that.Would could also mean we could potentially see other bundle sets such as the Celestial set (Stardust, Starbound, Starscale etc) Exalted set, Primeval set, Storm elemental set, Fire elemental set etc being added to the game to give people more options to go after a specific set.

[TheNecrosanct.4028]

@Teratus.2859 said:

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

This.

If the one thing you really want is a Warclaw Skin or Skyscale skin because you only have the default but they are locked behind a RNG licence so you buy around 4 licences and end up unlocking only springers and skimmers then you would understandably be annoyed.

These bulk packs are like Haleydawn said, catch up bundles that guarantee you get a handful of skins for a specific mount to avoid having to rely on any RNG element.

Going forward with new licence packs I expect they will add more Skyscales and Warclaws to the general mix like they did with Beelte, although keep in mind that each new mount they add to the game will make that RNG element worse.More skins there are in a set the less likely you are to get the one you want when you buy the random licence.

I am in agreement with people around themed sets though, as I posted in another thread I am actively collecting the branded mount skins for one of my characters which has so far required me to buy the Branded Mounts pack, the Warclaw pack and the Skyscale pack to obtain all 7 available skins.Still waiting for a Branded Beetle skin to complete that btw Anet

hint hint

;)

I do think that the branded Warclaw and Skyscale skins should be made available in the Branded Mounts pack, more so themed sets like that should also discount per every unlocked skin you already own as well.So if you previously bought a Branded set then buying it again for the Skyscale and Warclaw skins should already take into consideration the 5 other skins you've already unlocked and discount the pack by 400 gems per mount.. ergo the 2000 gem pack becomes 800 the second time around.Likewise each mount added to it would increase the price by 400 gems.. but with the above discount system in place it wouldn't be as big of a deal since if 2800 gems is way too much for a themed set, you could always buy RNG licences, unlock a few of them individually and then buy the themed bundle to complete it at a later date for a lower price.

I think that would be very fair, and a lot of people would be ok with something like that.Would could also mean we could potentially see other bundle sets such as the Celestial set (Stardust, Starbound, Starscale etc) Exalted set, Primeval set, Storm elemental set, Fire elemental set etc being added to the game to give people more options to go after a specific set.

I have to disagree with your reason why they released these mount packs. They wouldn't have done it to avoid the RNG, since the mount adoption licenses are basically the way they will be releasing new mount skins in the game, besides the premium skins every now and then. And the RNG will not get worse, because each set is a different one. They don't add new skins to existing sets, but instead release an entirely new set. They seem to have settled on sets of 15 skins. So in the future that could either mean less new skins because they now have to add more different mounts, or they would increase it from 15 to, let's say 20 because of the new mount models. Since there was already a mount skin pack planned for release a month after they introduced the Roller Beetle, a separate pack with skins for only that mount wasn't necessary. But a new set now is likely not going to come out for at least 3 to 4 months and that would leave people with a long period of time during which they had hardly any choice for Skyscale skins.

ANet also already confirmed they won't add the new mounts to the existing themed packs. Instead it seems they are going to release them one by one through newer sets. It won't undermine the purchases of people who already have the set. It doesn't drive the price up too much with each new mount added to the game.

I do like your idea of ANet one day releasing themed packs for the skins they released through the adoption licenses, like Exalted, Primeval, etc. I wouldn't be surprised to see them do it once a version for every mount is out in the game.

[Blur.3465]

I personally don't like a single skin, so I won't be buying it.I like the fae dragon one because it has the best head/body and looks like a proper dragon. It's the skin I'll be using until they introduce another unique one.Skyscale looks like a mix of gargoyle, demon and pug (the 'punched' face), hence why neither of these skins are attractive to me. I never liked the original Skyscale model to begin with.

The Axehead is interesting, but the head is HUGE compared to its tiny hind legs and tiny thin tail...Imo, I feel these skins could've been done better.Branded one is an exception as it does add a nice detail, but definitely not something I'd pay 20+ eur for.

[Ashantara.8731]

@ROMANG.1903 said:Why are skyscale skins in a separate pack?

To get it over with and come up with more unique skins of the pretty kind in the future? Just a guess. :p

[Teratus.2859]

@TheNecrosanct.4028 said:

@Teratus.2859 said:

@Haleydawn.3764 said:Think of the Warclaw and Skyscale mount bundles as 'catch up' bundles, for variety.

This.

If the one thing you really want is a Warclaw Skin or Skyscale skin because you only have the default but they are locked behind a RNG licence so you buy around 4 licences and end up unlocking only springers and skimmers then you would understandably be annoyed.

These bulk packs are like Haleydawn said, catch up bundles that guarantee you get a handful of skins for a specific mount to avoid having to rely on any RNG element.

Going forward with new licence packs I expect they will add more Skyscales and Warclaws to the general mix like they did with Beelte, although keep in mind that each new mount they add to the game will make that RNG element worse.More skins there are in a set the less likely you are to get the one you want when you buy the random licence.

I am in agreement with people around themed sets though, as I posted in another thread I am actively collecting the branded mount skins for one of my characters which has so far required me to buy the Branded Mounts pack, the Warclaw pack and the Skyscale pack to obtain all 7 available skins.Still waiting for a Branded Beetle skin to complete that btw Anet

hint hint

;)

I do think that the branded Warclaw and Skyscale skins should be made available in the Branded Mounts pack, more so themed sets like that should also discount per every unlocked skin you already own as well.So if you previously bought a Branded set then buying it again for the Skyscale and Warclaw skins should already take into consideration the 5 other skins you've already unlocked and discount the pack by 400 gems per mount.. ergo the 2000 gem pack becomes 800 the second time around.Likewise each mount added to it would increase the price by 400 gems.. but with the above discount system in place it wouldn't be as big of a deal since if 2800 gems is way too much for a themed set, you could always buy RNG licences, unlock a few of them individually and then buy the themed bundle to complete it at a later date for a lower price.

I think that would be very fair, and a lot of people would be ok with something like that.Would could also mean we could potentially see other bundle sets such as the Celestial set (Stardust, Starbound, Starscale etc) Exalted set, Primeval set, Storm elemental set, Fire elemental set etc being added to the game to give people more options to go after a specific set.

I have to disagree with your reason why they released these mount packs. They wouldn't have done it to avoid the RNG, since the mount adoption licenses are basically the way they will be releasing new mount skins in the game, besides the premium skins every now and then. And the RNG will not get worse, because each set is a different one. They don't add new skins to existing sets, but instead release an entirely new set. They seem to have settled on sets of 15 skins. So in the future that could either mean less new skins because they now have to add more different mounts, or they would increase it from 15 to, let's say 20 because of the new mount models. Since there was already a mount skin pack planned for release a month after they introduced the Roller Beetle, a separate pack with skins for only that mount wasn't necessary. But a new set now is likely not going to come out for at least 3 to 4 months and that would leave people with a long period of time during which they had hardly any choice for Skyscale skins.

What I mean by the RNG getting worse is that the more differnt mounts there are, the more skins there may need to be per new licence.Like you said this may result in increasing the amount of skins released per licence which would reduce your chances of getting a particular one (granted they have a choice licence option to balance this and that deserves to be mentioned)Or it could mean there are less skins per mount per licence release which would always result in newer mounts having significantly less skins than the older ones and with limited space available, what skins get included in those new licences becomes a far more controversial subject as people tend to become far more critical and harder to please if they are disatisfied with the released skins.Those who want shiny glowy space Skyscale skin would get mad if they only got 2 generic looking skyscales with different patterns, likewise those who want more authentic animal skins/patters would get annoyed if their only options were new skins with obnoxious shiny effects.So either the RNG gets worse in the sense I described above or the options become more limited.. either way that would leave people unhappy and this issue only gets worse the more mounts get added in future.

That's why I think these small mount specific packs are a good way to start out, they give more options to us players and I bought both Skyscale and Warclaw ones with no regrets.But there will always be people who don't feel they are worth it and don't like most if not all of the skins.

ANet also already confirmed they won't add the new mounts to the existing themed packs. Instead it seems they are going to release them one by one through newer sets. It won't undermine the purchases of people who already have the set. It doesn't drive the price up too much with each new mount added to the game.

I feel this is a mistake on their part, as I mentioned in the last post.If they found a way to discount the themed packs by taking 400 gems off the price for every skin in the pack you already own then it would be great.I own the Branded pack so if I didn't have the Branded Warclaw and Skyscale and only wanted those skins from the Warclaw and Skyscale skin packs then I could under this system buy another Branded mount pack to unlock those skins specifically, since I already paid the 2000 gems prior and have the original 5 skins unlocked I'd only need to pay 800 to get the Branded Warclaw and Skyscale.Likewise when a Branded Beetle gets added further down the line I can buy a 3rd Branded set for just 400 gems to get that one skin.

This would be easily repeatable with any themed set if that system existed and I think it being an option would make a lot of people happy.Even if the themed sets do appear expensive if you don't have any of the skins unlocked, 3600 gems for 8 skins currently.The cheaper the packs get due to unlocking via other means the more enticing the packs become to complete the sets.

There will always be those crazy whales too who would go nuts and pay upwards of 4000 gems for an entire new themed set..We saw that post PoF when the first licence packs droped and there was a big 30 mount bundle pack for almost 10,000 gems.. mad people actually bought that despite costing over 100 dollars lol

I do like your idea of ANet one day releasing themed packs for the skins they released through the adoption licenses, like Exalted, Primeval, etc. I wouldn't be surprised to see them do it once a version for every mount is out in the game.

Yeah I hope they do it and they'd have an asured sale from me if they did for a fair number of them (sand skins are first to come to mind), I have a lot of skins but not all of them and I would like to have all of a particular few sets, my main focus is on branded atm which is only incomplete because there is no beetle, something I hope changes soon.