$USD 500+ to change mount skins, it's yours, just take it

[Piney.3076]

Anet I'm sitting here dying for the chance to give you money for mount skins. It's yours guys, just take it, take my money! Seriously please!

But yer only offering mount licenses. I just can't buy those for a couple reasons.

First, I'm sorry to say, the experience is difficult. All the other handy stuff I've bought, gathering tools, outfits, home portal stone, shared inventory slots had one thing in common. You knew exactly what you were getting. And there was a nice handy big buy button right there. Oh a mount licence? Yeah you get some random mount, no preview, it's good it's "new horizons", whatever that means. I have to go to character - mounts, select the mount, hover over each trying to see if it's new horizons, to track down the two bunnies out of 20 for that license? Then I realize I hate both bunnies (hey not everyone gonna like every skin) but see the super cool starbunny. Oh that's in some other damn license that's not even for sale right now.

That's me going from being a customer with money burning a hole in my pocket ready to spend, to a super disappointed and frustrated customer keeping his money, in about 5-10 minutes tops. At the least do the black lion chest thing, where you can see the list of what you can get, and even drill down and preview each item. If you must do the license thing, please at least bring the mount license experience up to par with the other items or black lion chest.

Second, I want sets. You may have given up on sets after the shiverpeaks set, but you shouldn't have. The problem wasn't sets as a whole, just that the shiverpeaks set wasn't the sexiest. Especially with exalted, star, dreadnought skins just sitting there, incomplete, beside them. It'd immediately solve the experience issue above. Here is the set, here are the skins you get, here is the buy button. Clear and exactly what I want. 5k gems for 8 skins, that's 625 gems per skin. That's pretty fair. I'd maybe go as high at 1k per, total 8k gems for the set, for the right set. Hmm obviously 2k gems for a single mount is right out for me, or I'd already have bought the dreadnought.

But fine, maybe the shiverpeak set sales were so bad you just can't get over it. Well, can we meet in the middle somehow so I can still at least get the skins I want? Can we do something like the outfits with licenses, since all the licenses pretty much cost the same anyway? Then, and this is key, make the cool skins! Dreadnought, exalted, star, geode, alloyed, primeval, reforged, sand souled, branded, bioluminescent! Cmon you've started the set, they look awesome, we want the skins, just finish em. Be sure to add roller beetle, warclaw and skyscale please. I could maybe go as high as 1k per skin for the whole starbound set, so 700 gems for a select license is a deal I guess.

But do please make the skins. And also see what you can do about license usability. Thanks. Sitting here waiting. With money.

[Razor.6392]

the "I WANT THIS AND THAT" mentality is strong in this one.

[ugrakarma.9416]

i guess they strategy is OK, since mount skins is something u get bored fast, i bought dozens on past year i dont feel the necessity of buy more.. because basically mount skins falls into categories: a) shining, some sort of "flaming"/fluid ones b) more "raw" non-shine mount.

[ugrakarma.9416]

About sets i dont understand why anet is so alergic to a complete set/concept. Some fashionist are completionists. Anet is changing this on last years, but most part they hardly do a complete themed armor set+weapon set+backpiece even the $$$ items. Only in LSW4 we had something to a complete themed set(a "dragon" one) with requiem/elegy armor + banner of commander + dragonblood weapons. ....., At least "flame" mounts was launched on first packages(but still spreaded), and i have all of them.

[Erasculio.2914]

@"Razor.6392" said:the "I WANT THIS AND THAT" mentality is strong in this one.

Yeah, how DARE a costumer tell a company what he/she wants! How absurd is this? I mean, next you'll think that companies will actually ask people their opinion and actually value their replies!

[Zaklex.6308]

@"ugrakarma.9416" said:About sets i dont understand why anet is so alergic to a complete set/concept. Some fashionist are completionists. Anet is changing this on last years, but most part they hardly do a complete themed armor set+weapon set+backpiece even the $$$ items. Only in LSW4 we had something to a complete themed set(a "dragon" one) with requiem/elegy armor + banner of commander + dragonblood weapons. ....., At least "flame" mounts was launched on first packages(but still spreaded), and i have all of them.

They already stated they were not going to go back and add new mounts to old sets, so if you liked a set that was released for the original 5 mounts, then that's all you're getting, there won't be skins made for the other 3 newer mounts for that set.

Really though, the OP's though process is a little off...buy the whole thing, you'll get what you want...it's not that expensive.

[Trise.2865]

An important detail of the adoption licenses: they will always award a new skin in the set; they're not 100% random.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Can't you just type 'New Horizon' in the Mount UI search bar?

[Vegeta.2563]

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:Can't you just type 'New Horizon' in the Mount UI search bar?

Nope

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Unfortunate. There's always the Wiki, though.

[Piney.3076]

They already stated they were not going to go back and add new mounts to old sets, so if you liked a set that was released for the original 5 mounts, then that's all you're getting, there won't be skins made for the other 3 newer mounts for that set.

They said it but they can change it. It ain't set it stone. What IS set in stone, I ain't buying random. We deal with random every single loot drop. We hate it. I'm in no way ever going to pay money for it. I will give props for no dupes. No dupes is ethically distant from most trading card games, collectible figures, etc. The select license, is ethically better than cable packages. Better, but still in the same ball park. Which is far from the worst but, you know, a bit meh.

Honestly trying to help out here. Maybe it's just me. But if the licenses bug you as well, and are actively preventing from spending money you want to spend, drop a note. This could work out. Anet could focus on something more profitable, we could get the things we want.

[Piney.3076]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Unfortunate. There's always the Wiki, though.

Isn't it weird though? I expect to hit the wiki when I'm figuring out ascended cooking or trying new boss encounter. But to figure out what I'm getting for my money? Like, NO OTHER purchase does this. Black lion keys you can check out the chests. Packages show lists of the items. Even that warclaw set that I hated, you could preview those right? Why make it super weird to purchase what should be a cash cow?

Even better why not a buy button like right on the mounts page? Starbound roller beetle. Put a nice big buy button right on it. I might click it if it's on sale, even when I really want to hold out for the full set.

[crepuscular.9047]

isnt there's a more expensive version called a mount selection license that you can select the one you want? pretty sure they implemented that after the initial backlash

[Bast.7253]

I think they would sell a lot more mount skins if they didn't lock them behind rng.

BUT, as to the sets, it boils down to, a player wants a specific aesthetic, like the starbound mount series, but by locking each mount behind 7 or 8 different random drop mount licenses, they're forcing those few that really really want those mount skins to purchase 8 licenses. Whether that makes up for how many they could have sold if they just released the entire collection as a whole, and reeled in the people that were wise enough to see through this sales tactic, who knows.

I'm inclined to think that they would sell more, but we haven't seen any full set mount skins like the branded or awakened in awhile, so perhaps the analyst found that it was more profitable draining the pocket of the ones gullible or gambling addicted enough to shell out the cash.

Honestly, half the gemstore decisions baffle me and I still wonder how much more sales they could get, if they just dropped this rng license and black lion chest design and sold everything outright. And I get that some people like some of these simple minimally different mount skins that are bundled into those licenses, you know, the ones with a stripe 3 centimeters further to the left or a dye pattern that was just slightttly different than the other 4 mount skins, but I feel like the majority of those are just to bloat the license and less chances for people to get what they want. Which is sad, not only for the consumer, but despite who small the changes actually are, that still took an artist's time that could have been spent making more unique and potentially profitable skins.

I think the quality I've seen from the last few have improved slightly in terms of actual variation and detail, but it's still few and far between for me personally. That's why I like these 4 week preparation packages, I get to choose what I want, for several different areas. Sure, they're not always flashy, but this one in particular gave me the option to choose exactly what mount skin I wanted, the arcane dye that I've wanted for months now, and a little more additional value later on. It's a good business model, because, yes, it forces people to pay extra for something they may want, but they get the choice of what they want.. and it has additional goodies that make it feel worth the investment. Minor ones, like a few black lion keys that will most likely be worthless in the end, but I didn't just spend that 1800 or whatever gems on a mount pack with 4 mount skins I'll likely never use.

Admittedly though, I'm glad that a lot of the things I request on the gemstore wind up making it in in some form eventually, ha. Though I was kind of hoping for a Bengal tiger Warclaw without a diving helmet covering its face...

Anyway, I'm just repeatedly intrigued and annoyed by their decisions with gemstore items. I think they could also cycle some of the statuette exchange items more frequently. It's a shame having to wait months and months to hopefully one day be able to purchase the exalted shoulders with statuettes, not knowing if or when that day will even come. Just sell things outright. I see a ton of people with them, and I imagine there are a ton more that would readily buy them if they weren't rng.

But somewhere up the chain, someone has determined this is the best business model, and it's baffling to think that this is actually the best business model. Logic says that this is bad, but perhaps the wallets of the illogical makes up for the loss.

I also don't understand this whole, partial armor sets thing though. I wanted a full exalted set since heart of thorns, then they release two pieces of armor and make one of them locked behind a random drop in a black lion chest? Then they just presumably stop making the rest of the set?

And they've done this with countless other pieces, like the jackal rune set, and I can't even recall all of the others.

Like, what makes them decide, oh, we're going to just make 2 pieces of this armor set, that likely won't match anything else or be hard to match with pre-existing armor skins. Maybe they're relying on the people that want the full armor sets to purchase them piece by piece thinking they'll eventually have a whole set, then yanking the carrot away and being like, "gotchya, suckas! moving on!" And perhaps it's because they only think those themes will look good on those specific armor pieces? But like, why make boots and gloves, but then not make something arguably far more desirable like a shoulder-piece or a helmet, that's arguably one of the most sought after pieces of armor in any mmo.. and the ones that make the largest impact?

Idk. I'm not even going to try to rant even further and rationalize some of these decisions. It clearly makes sense to someone somewhere, but it certainly doesn't to me. I find it hard to believe it's doing them any favor choosing rng over direct purchase. Then again they're selling chairs, when they could be selling infusions, combat tonics, or more mount and armor skins. The inquest chair is awesome, but like, aside from those few moments when you want to impress newbies or role play, why would you pay for a virtual chair? At least that one comes with a glider skin and both are extremely well done. So strange.

[Bast.7253]

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@"ugrakarma.9416" said:About sets i dont understand why anet is so alergic to a complete set/concept. Some fashionist are completionists. Anet is changing this on last years, but most part they hardly do a complete themed armor set+weapon set+backpiece even the $$$ items. Only in LSW4 we had something to a complete themed set(a "dragon" one) with requiem/elegy armor + banner of commander + dragonblood weapons. ....., At least "flame" mounts was launched on first packages(but still spreaded), and i have all of them.

They already stated they were not going to go back and add new mounts to old sets, so if you liked a set that was released for the original 5 mounts, then that's all you're getting, there won't be skins made for the other 3 newer mounts for that set.

Really though, the OP's though process is a little off...buy the whole thing, you'll get what you want...it's not that expensive.

Mmmm, I'm not sure I'm reading this right, but they had a branded mount pack and they've since released a branded skyscale and a branded warclaw. Oh wait, I guess this means adding them for free? I didn't read the original post, but no, obviously they're not going to go back and add them for free. I don't know why anyone would think they would do anything like that for free. I mean, I wouldn't even do that, and I detest many of their gemstore decisions as I previously posted. lol

What I would say to that though, is ensuring that someone can direct purchase the skin belonging to that set, instead of trying to get it out of a random drop from a license. That's fair, and seems like it would be more profitable as people would more willingly pay. I won't even suggest that the item be discounted, I think it's fair that they just have the choice.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

@"cptaylor.2670" said:I think they would sell a lot more mount skins if they didn't lock them behind rng.

BUT, as to the sets, it boils down to, a player wants a specific aesthetic, like the starbound mount series, but by locking each mount behind 7 or 8 different random drop mount licenses, they're forcing those few that really really want those mount skins to purchase 8 licenses. Whether that makes up for how many they could have sold if they just released the entire collection as a whole, and reeled in the people that were wise enough to see through this sales tactic, who knows.

I'm inclined to think that they would sell more, but we haven't seen any full set mount skins like the branded or awakened in awhile, so perhaps the analyst found that it was more profitable draining the pocket of the ones gullible or gambling addicted enough to shell out the cash.

Honestly, half the gemstore decisions baffle me and I still wonder how much more sales they could get, if they just dropped this rng license and black lion chest design and sold everything outright. And I get that some people like some of these simple minimally different mount skins that are bundled into those licenses, you know, the ones with a stripe 3 centimeters further to the left or a dye pattern that was just slightttly different than the other 4 mount skins, but I feel like the majority of those are just to bloat the license and less chances for people to get what they want. Which is sad, not only for the consumer, but despite who small the changes actually are, that still took an artist's time that could have been spent making more unique and potentially profitable skins.

I think the quality I've seen from the last few have improved slightly in terms of actual variation and detail, but it's still few and far between for me personally. That's why I like these 4 week preparation packages, I get to choose what I want, for several different areas. Sure, they're not always flashy, but this one in particular gave me the option to choose exactly what mount skin I wanted, the arcane dye that I've wanted for months now, and a little more additional value later on. It's a good business model, because, yes, it forces people to pay extra for something they may want, but they get the choice of what they want.. and it has additional goodies that make it feel worth the investment. Minor ones, like a few black lion keys that will most likely be worthless in the end, but I didn't just spend that 1800 or whatever gems on a mount pack with 4 mount skins I'll likely never use.

Admittedly though, I'm glad that a lot of the things I request on the gemstore wind up making it in in some form eventually, ha. Though I was kind of hoping for a Bengal tiger Warclaw without a diving helmet covering its face...

Anyway, I'm just repeatedly intrigued and annoyed by their decisions with gemstore items. I think they could also cycle some of the statuette exchange items more frequently. It's a shame having to wait months and months to hopefully one day be able to purchase the exalted shoulders with statuettes, not knowing if or when that day will even come. Just sell things outright. I see a ton of people with them, and I imagine there are a ton more that would readily buy them if they weren't rng.

But somewhere up the chain, someone has determined this is the best business model, and it's baffling to think that this is actually the best business model. Logic says that this is bad, but perhaps the wallets of the illogical makes up for the loss.

I also don't understand this whole, partial armor sets thing though. I wanted a full exalted set since heart of thorns, then they release two pieces of armor and make one of them locked behind a random drop in a black lion chest? Then they just presumably stop making the rest of the set?

And they've done this with countless other pieces, like the jackal rune set, and I can't even recall all of the others.

Like, what makes them decide, oh, we're going to just make 2 pieces of this armor set, that likely won't match anything else or be hard to match with pre-existing armor skins. Maybe they're relying on the people that want the full armor sets to purchase them piece by piece thinking they'll eventually have a whole set, then yanking the carrot away and being like, "gotchya, suckas! moving on!" And perhaps it's because they only think those themes will look good on those specific armor pieces? But like, why make boots and gloves, but then not make something arguably far more desirable like a shoulder-piece or a helmet, that's arguably one of the most sought after pieces of armor in any mmo.. and the ones that make the largest impact?

Idk. I'm not even going to try to rant even further and rationalize some of these decisions. It clearly makes sense to someone somewhere, but it certainly doesn't to me. I find it hard to believe it's doing them any favor choosing rng over direct purchase. Then again they're selling chairs, when they could be selling infusions, combat tonics, or more mount and armor skins. The inquest chair is awesome, but like, aside from those few moments when you want to impress newbies or role play, why would you pay for a virtual chair? At least that one comes with a glider skin and both are extremely well done. So strange.

Other than the original set (which wasn't ~8), anyone can purchase only the select Mount skin they prefer. For much less than buying 8 random licenses.

[Cyninja.2954]

Mount licenses with selected skinThese licenses contain one skin of your choice from their respective lists:

• https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mount_license

If you want select mount licenses, pay the premium for being able to select them. Done.

[PirateSpice.8735]

@"cptaylor.2670" said:I think they would sell a lot more mount skins if they didn't lock them behind rng.Sadly, this probably isn't true. I wish it were. But they are relying upon gambling psychology. Their marketing department knows full well that there are processes going on in our brains that give us a rush when we open lootboxes such as Black Lion Chests or mount licenses, and then we crave it more, and therefore spend more money. This is how gambling addiction happens, and it's the reason why a lot of people want legislation passed to regulation or ban this kind of predatory practice in the gaming industry. There's an old reddit post that explains it far better than I ever could.

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Can't you just type 'New Horizon' in the Mount UI search bar?

A search function that would be perfect for description text on items does not include that in the search. Add that to the pile of reasons they need to add right click preview to everything in the Gem store

[Roamer.3259]

I don't see the problem, you can buy a selection license and choose the exact mount skin of the set that you want instead of praying for rng.

[Ryukai.6524]

@Roamer.3259 said:I don't see the problem, you can buy a selection license and choose the exact mount skin of the set that you want instead of praying for rng.

I think it's more of a case that you CAN'T see what mountskins the licenses include IN-GAME via a rightclick/preview menu in the gemstore itself, BEFORE you purchase it. That includes both the random and the select licenses.

You have to go to an externaly run site just to find out :/

[Linken.6345]

@"cptaylor.2670" said:

@Zaklex.6308 said:

@"ugrakarma.9416" said:About sets i dont understand why anet is so alergic to a complete set/concept. Some fashionist are completionists. Anet is changing this on last years, but most part they hardly do a complete themed armor set+weapon set+backpiece even the $$$ items. Only in LSW4 we had something to a complete themed set(a "dragon" one) with requiem/elegy armor + banner of commander + dragonblood weapons. ....., At least "flame" mounts was launched on first packages(but still spreaded), and i have all of them.

They already stated they were not going to go back and add new mounts to old sets, so if you liked a set that was released for the original 5 mounts, then that's all you're getting, there won't be skins made for the other 3 newer mounts for that set.

Really though, the OP's though process is a little off...buy the whole thing, you'll get what you want...it's not that expensive.

Mmmm, I'm not sure I'm reading this right, but they had a branded mount pack and they've since released a branded skyscale and a branded warclaw. Oh wait, I guess this means adding them for free? I didn't read the original post, but no, obviously they're not going to go back and add them for free. I don't know why anyone would think they would do anything like that for free. I mean, I wouldn't even do that, and I detest many of their gemstore decisions as I previously posted. lol

What I would say to that though, is ensuring that someone can direct purchase the skin belonging to that set, instead of trying to get it out of a random drop from a license. That's fair, and seems like it would be more profitable as people would more willingly pay. I won't even suggest that the item be discounted, I think it's fair that they just have the choice.

You cant do that tho, to get branded warclaw you have to buy the warclaw pack 2k for 4 skins I think it was.And same for skyscale a pack of 4 skins for 2kSo 1600 for first 5 skins and another 4k for the last 2 =(

[Piney.3076]

@"Cyninja.2954" said:

Mount licenses with selected skinThese licenses contain

one skin of your choice

from their respective lists:

• https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mount_license

If you want select mount licenses, pay the premium for being able to select them. Done.

I could live with this but they also ain't making the skins for the whole set. I bought the awakened, branded, spooky and exo-suit sets. I love em. They did add the branded warclaw and skyscale, so props there, thanks anet! But you can't buy em right now. Back to sad trombone. And there isn't a branded roller beetle. And nothing for the other sets.

Which is my two points. Please make the skins. And do please also make them less awkward to buy. I'll buy em if you do.

[MisterDapper.5984]

Loot box mechanics are definitely not healthy for the game.

[MashMash.1645]

@MisterDapper.5984 said:Loot box mechanics are definitely not healthy for the game.

Depends how you define healthy I suppose. Activisions $800 million dollars from FIFA alone (just one game!) would suggest loot boxes are very healthy - for the bottom line anyway.