[bug?] Branded Wing Backpack Skin restricted from PFF, Core and PoF game owners

[StinVec.3621]

All previous backpack/glider combos since HoT's release have still been purchasable by core game only owners due to their containing a backpack item.

Buying only a glider skin requires owning HoT, but if the combo pack had a backpack in it then those who did not own HoT could still purchase it. The glider skin would be unlocked as well, but of course that was of no use until HoT was purchased.

Now, with the Branded Wing Backpack/Glider combo, this restriction has been applied and I must own either HoT or PoF, which I do not.

This restriction didn't affect me much in the past for the glider skins as I do not own HoT and cannot use them. However, I do wish I could have gotten some glider skins while they were available just in case something changed and I could afford HoT so I didn't need to wait for the skin to return to the gem store.

However, I was always able to buy the backpack skins even if they were in a glider combo pack...now I cannot.

Q.

• ANet, is this a bug on this one item or is this new restriction pushed onto backpack/glider combos intentional and something I can expect to find on all backpack/glider combos going forward?

If it is intentional, I see this change as only serving to force players to own an expansion in order to get a cosmetic item from the gem store, one that should not be restricted and never has been before to core game owners.

Perhaps one day I will be able to afford PoF (and maybe HoT as well way into the future), but not having it shouldn't take away something that had previously been available to me as a paid owner of the core game. In the meantime, if this is a bug, please correct it. If not, I request that you please consider reverting this new restriction on backpack skins being locked from purchase if it includes a glider in the package.

Thank you.

[StinVec.3621]

Well, I managed to upgrade to PoF, but apparently I still cannot purchase this backpack item due to it being bundled with a glider skin.

The information on the item initially states that it "...requires Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns", though this is associated with the glider as that requires HoT to be usable, not the backpack skin.

In fact, attempting to purchase it gives the message:Newly created accounts must meet the following requirements before using this feature

• Upgrade your account with a Guild Wars 2 expansion
• Newly unlocked accounts require validation. You have satisfied this requirement.

So now that I have updated to "A" GW2 expansion, I should be able to purchase this backpack skin.

I still cannot despite it stating that I would be able to were I to upgrade from core to also own an expansion.

Adding this expansion purchase requirement to a simple backpack skin in the gem store was disappointing enough, but now to find that upgrading to PoF (as it says to purchase "A" GW2 expansion) was still not enough to allow me to purchase it is absurd.

As no response has been made on this matter, I can take this to mean that it is intentional to block core and PoF owners from purchasing this backpack skin because you forced it into a bundle with a glider which requires HoT.

This makes me quite disappointed to know that future backpacks will not be able to be purchased from the gem store by those who do not own HoT simply because they happen to be bundled with a glider, unlike how it was with all previous backpack/glider combos released being able to be purchased by non-HoT owners.

Very disappointed, ArenaNet.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Just because there was no official response to your thread, it doesn't mean it's not a bug. Perhaps it is intended, and perhaps the QA Team is working on it as we speak.

[StinVec.3621]

Forum bug: I need to leave this additional comment so I can mark it as answering my question to get rid of the constant pop up demanding that I mark a response as the answer to my question, despite my already marking my previous response as not answering it. (I've heard of some getting infracted for doing this to get rid of the persistent pop up, but it's worth it to get rid of it as they've not yet fixed the bug in the forum code that harasses question thread makers to select an answer even when none exist to select.)