What do you guys think of the waypoint gems feature?

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

Truthfully at this point, 5 years, 2 expansions, a bunch of new maps and a new set of Legendaries down the road, not all that many people are concerned about wp unlocks in the vanilla maps. The only reason they were important at all was for making the 1st set of Legendaries. Legendaries which were devalued at the start of the game because you could buy gold with money and buy your Legendary and completely bypass the whole map/wp completion thing. And with mounts, a low level can get high level map wps, making wps in core even less important as a gate to making Legendaries.

[Lonecap.4105]

I'm not sure what's more stupid, being dumb enough to buy the waypoints or being dumb enough to let it bother you that they're available.

[iAimToPlease.7304]

Pay to win doesn't apply here, lol.

Not like you're able to buy superior gear that you can't get in the game, you can run around the map and unlock those waypoints, nothing riveting here. Just like the unbreakable gathering tools it's just pay for convenience.

It's such a pointless thing to spend money on though, who even does that? Dumb consumers gonna be dumb, I guess..

[Omar Aschi Popp.7496]

@TexZero.7910 said:I think people need to stop using the term P2W when there's no winning involved.

I think people need to stop using the term overturned in sPvP when they just need to learn how to play.

This comment in interchangeable and has no bearing on the complaining nature of the community.

[glenndevis.8327]

I want an unlock all heart quest pack in the gem store.

[SpyderBite.6274]

P2W argument only applies to PvP & WvW play styles in any online game. Nobody cares how many Achievement points you have except you in PvE.

[Kong.3280]

Adding the ability to unlock Waypoints via Gemstore purchase is no different than unlocking skins, storage options, or the numerous Utility items such as Revive Orbs, Teleport to Friend, and so on.

It's a handy purchase for those who may have already done map completion on previous characters, and wants some Waypoints unlocked without spending the time to do it manually.

[Danikat.8537]

They added it because people kept asking for it and saying they'd pay for it.

I don't see it as a problem on it's own because unlocking waypoints is trivial - you just have to get near them and it happens automatically. Yes it's part of map completion but it's by far the easiest part, and if you buy this you've still got to do all the other stuff, which would almost certainly bring you close enough to each waypoint to unlock it anyway. All it really does is change the order you can do it in.

Having said that I do think there's a potential for things like this, the level 80 boost and gems to gold conversion to form a worrying trend. It's something I've taken to calling 'Pay-to-NOT-play' - you buy a game and then spend even more money to skip parts of it, in effect spending more money to play less. Of course it's completely optional but my concern is if it attracts players who like that, or if the company just thinks it's popular it could feed into other areas of game design and lead to a game built around cutting corners and getting to the "end" as soon as possible.

[Loli Ruri.8307]

It's just another choice to take. If you don't want it, great. If you do want it, that's fine with you. And the reason for that is, because it affects nobody elses game play.

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

I would've agreed if I didn't find the item laughable as getting my own waypoints while going through with a character gives them Exp.The only way the waypoints are technically worth it is for those that have a ton of Tomes or used their Level 80 Boost from an expansion or bought a level 80 boost item from the Gem Store.If someone want to use it, so be it. The only advantage I would see is "Oh you got there quicker on a character you didn't explore with and don't have to completely walk/ride/asura gate there."Which... is fine?

Before mounts I rarely ever Waypoint unless I died or something. I just walked everywhere I go. With mounts? Even less now.

[Omar Aschi Popp.7496]

@Shadowsrb.6241 said:nothing close to "pay2win",its more "dumb2buy"....20$ for few hours of playing.getting waypoints is by far easiest part in maps completion...

A few hours? How do you play man?

Took me 5 years to map complete core Tyria. I smelled the roses.I still agree with you on the silliness.

[DeanBB.4268]

They added this because, just like mounts, people have been asking for them for ages.

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

@Omar Aschi Popp.7496 said:

@Shadowsrb.6241 said:nothing close to "pay2win",its more "dumb2buy"....20$ for few hours of playing.getting waypoints is by far easiest part in maps completion...

A few hours? How do you play man?

Took me 5 years to map complete core Tyria. I smelled the roses.I still agree with you on the silliness.

It took one of my characters about 2 months to get around 80% map completion and that's only because that character is set to do map completion with a friend and they sometimes don't have time to play.If it was just me alone, it would've been done before those 2 months.That character would've been my 3rd completion. Right now working on a 4th too WITH mounts.

[pah.4931]

When you boost a character, you don't have nearly as many Waypoints in the old world making Daily Events much harder to do. :P

[Ayumi Spender.1082]

@pah.4931 said:When you boost a character, you don't have nearly as many Waypoints in the old world making Daily Events much harder to do. :P

Only if you have no other character.When I see dailies, I literally go "which one is best for these dailies?"

[SkyShroud.2865]

It would be considered a p2w item if people plays pvp mmorpg before.

The only reasons that stop gw2 being look like adding p2w item are the gear cap and the pointlessness of map completions.In other words, even 80 booster can be considered p2w item.

[Sethorus.9231]

There is no point in calling the Waypoint unlocking a p2w feature, at most i just tier it's importance and usefulness with Oblivion's Horse Armor and the Mortal Kombat X Easy Fatalities.

[blambidy.3216]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@blambidy.3216 said:However I get you guys. I'm not here to be whining. I'm just asking if you think it is or isn't. Just wondering your thoughts

Without trying to minimize your concern or suggest that you can't ask about pay-to-win, I hope you can see that the phrasing is going to affect the sort of responses you get. Wondering about thoughts is, "what do you guys think about the Waypoint Unlock Box?" Offering an opinion sounds like, "did GW2 sneak in a pay-to-win feature?" (especially it doesn't even mention which and uses "sneak" for something that is publicly announced).

The first is open ended; the second is a leading question (with an implied answer) and tends to polarize the replies.

Ok I will change the headline. Didn't think it was like that.

[Blaeys.3102]

I have had zero issue with what they have sold on the gem store to date, but I do believe this flirts a little too much with pay to win - for those people that cherish things like map exploration. I know that seems trivial to some, but for others, it is their primary method of enjoying the game.

It is no different than paid unlocks for specializations, masteries or raid vendors/rewards.

Anet selling this kind of item shows a lack of respect for what the explorers in the game may accomplish - and is a 180 degree turn from how they approached the game at launch.

Just because it is a game mode some consider beneath them or casual doesn't mean it isn't a path toward an actual in game accomplishment.

The waypoint unlock - if in the game at all - should be something that you can only buy on a level 80 that has already achieved map completion - eg, already accomplished the goal once - and it most definitely shouldn't be a gem store thing.

Alternatively, I would love to see a guild hall upgrade (if the devs ever remember that guilds are a still a part of the game) that opens portals from the guild hall to one waypoint on each map (to make guild events easiers) - but again, not for gems.

[penelopehannibal.8947]

Doesn't affect me as I'll never buy them. I prefer to map complete naturally. If someone wants to spend money/gold to get gems to take shortcuts that's their prerogative. Basically I have the same feelings as the Level 80 boost. Short cuts are nice and all, but they'll never replace the satisfying feeling of having done things yourself.

Edit: I'd hardly call Waypoint Unlocks a 'Pay to Win' feature.

[Rose.2593]

I think per character is okay if people want to buy them but no to being account bound for use by all characters.

[Ashen.2907]

I wont use it, but it doesnt bother me that someone else might.

[keyokku.5412]

I mean let's say they get map completion faster and get rewards faster and can make a legendary faster? How does that affect players who didn't buy those wp? There are thousands of players who have already done map completion multiple times and legendaries, and there are players who are doing it with mounts now. There are players who are using that 80 boost. Some players know how to game the market or have a lot more time to farm and less work hours. Players are all different. Yet some players like to define fairness in their own way. Skipping some pve game content and being able to play more end game or receive some rewards that benefit them personally... This is all still on the personal basis. It doesn't affect other players. Some players have already put in alot of effort and may want to do map completion easier for alts or maybe to help in guild missions or events where they don't have all the wp. It doesn't make it unfair for anyone

[Vavume.8065]

It's just another blatant cash grab, sadly this game revolves around the gem store.

[Ayakaru.6583]

P2W means getting something by paying, that is otherwise unobtainable.Waypoints are obtainable without cash, so its not P2W. This is not a discussion.As four whether it's a good product, maybe, but not for me. Now we have mounts you can run across a map in 5 minutes, so i think its a waste money to buy these