Erasculio.2914

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> I suspect they didn't update it (and the other 5-packs) to include the new mounts for two reasons: 1) some people probably have no intention of getting the warclaw/beetle/skyscale and wouldn't want to pay for those skins any more than they/others wanted to pay for the griffon

That argument contradict this one:

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> As for why they sell skins for the warclaw (and skyscale) as a bundle instead of individually I think it's simple: people will pay for it, and end up spending more than if they sold skins individually, even if they were 1,200 gems each like a select licence.

You're saying that ArenaNet wouldn't want to make players buy skins they don't want (for warclaw/beetle/etc) when they buy a skin pack, and that ArenaNet wants to make people buy skins they don't want when they buy the warclaw or the skyscale skin pack.

Let's be honest - a lot of ArenaNet's store offerings are based on making people buy things they don't want in order to get what they want. See the loot boxes, the dye kits, the random mount skin licences, and etc.

I think the reason they went from packs with a single skin for all mounts to packs with multiple skins for the same mount is simple: people often don't buy more than one skin for a single mount. By offering skins for all mounts in a single pack, many players would just buy that pack and no further skins. By offering skins for a single mount, though, ArenaNet ensures that people buy multiple skins for the same mount, and, in order to have at least one skin for each mount, people would have to buy multiple packs (one per mount).

It's even worse for players than the old packs. But that's how ArenaNet's monetization works (see the build templates).

I wonder what the storyline in GW2 would be like.

In the original Guild Wars, we...

* Fought to help the Kingdom of Ascalon against the Charr

* Saved the human city of Lion's Arch

* Helped the Kurzick and the Luxon

* Saved the imperial line of Cantha

* Saved Elona from being taken over by a tyrant, with the help of a group of allies

Between the original Guild Wars and GW2...

* The Kingdom of Ascalon was destroyed by the Charr, its king suicided himself and turned what remained of this people into ghosts

* The human city of Lion's Arch was destroyed and submerged

* The Luxon and the Kurzick were almost completely destroyed by the Emperor

* The imperal line led to the rise of a xenophobe Emperor who's a tyrant

* Elona was taken over by Joko, and our allies were killed and tortured for hundreds of years

So if we had a Guild Wars 3, I would expect it to be something like:

* Shahud, the Elder Sea Dragon rises. It's actually the Mother of all Dragons, to an elder dragon as an elder dragon is to a common human. Her appearance (she only raises her head and neck) breaks the Shiverpeaks Mountains in half. Shahud then eats Aurene, and devours all magic in the world.

* Without magic, Rata Sum falls from the sky. The surviving Asura are quickly wiped out, as without their golems and technomagic they're basically just arrogant rats.

* Without magic, the Pale Tree dies. No more Sylvari are born, and so they just slowly die, one by one.

* The destruction of the Shiverpeaks Mountains destroy the Norn civilization. They become nomads and are almost completely wiped out.

* Humans lose contact with the Charr (and with everything to the east of the mountains)

* Lion's Arch is destroyed by the tsunami created by the rise of Shahud.

* The same tsunami destroys all of coastal Elona; only the inland desert survives, dealing with a refugee crisis

The user interface as a whole needs an update (try previewing a greatsword as a Charr; you won't see much more than your feet).

Unfortunately, considering this is the kind of thing ArenaNet couldn't monetize, don't expect them to work on it any time soon.

> @"Bloodstealer.5978" said:

> this is all just typical business.

...Which had never happened in the almost 20 years ArenaNet has existed.

Ergo, is it typical for ArenaNet? No.

It's a sign of a change. Whether it's a change ArenaNet can recover or not, we don't know. The fact important people left during the layoffs and important people are still leaving doesn't exactly inspire confidence, though.

> @"Greg.7086" said:

> And I stand by that statement and it's not an insult: It's just real life.

Uhu. So the "it's not an insult when it's true" argument, then?

Again, if the optimistic view is the one calling some of the most important people on ArenaNet "lazy and complacent", I would rather be pessimistic.

> @"Bloodstealer.5978" said:

> The layoffs actually took ANET back to around the number of people they had when GW2 launched

Did it?

Considering we now know that more people left _after_ the layoffs... Looks like ArenaNet is hurting for people right now.

> @"Orsson.3208" said:

> I know that this kind of topic may seem odd, but I really want to know, because I would like to avoid a situation where I put hundred of hours and bags of money into the game and see it fall after couple of months.

Play the game, but wait a bit before you actually spend more money in it. Right now the future is very uncertain - you could spend a lot of money today only to learn tomorrow that the game is going into maintenance mode.

> @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said:

> I'm often wondering the exact same thing when reading "everything is fine, nothing to see here" posts on here or Reddit. If things like these **aren't** signs of trouble, then **what** would be?

Exactly.

People can say ["everything is fine"](https://imgur.com/gallery/c4jt321) as much as they want, but we have had a lot of bad news recently. Between the JP incident, the big layoffs, ArenaNet's composer asking to not work exclusively for them anymore, a lot of important people leaving, and so on... It's more than enough for players to worry.

And what good news have we had? The disappointing announcement of the Ice Brood Saga? Or a feature requested for years released with a dubious monetization scheme? The alliances system for WvW being delayed yet again?

After the layoffs, some people said that it was fine - GW2 had lost some people, but also got people back who had been working on other projects. The question is, would those who had willingly chosen to work on something other than GW2 even want to go back? We have just been told that Mike O'Brien left because he was a cofounder, but ArenaNet hadn't told us about the other developers who left with him. I wonder how many other developers have also left after the layoffs.

> @"NanoEliteSixSixSix.8935" said:

> Oh lord, they changed the store artwork and called it a bugfix. Good shenanigans, Anet. Good shenanigans indeed...

Yeah. I'm waiting for one of the ArenaNet's PR people to call the community "toxic" for complaining about this, too.

They really should offer those who bought the chair a free, bigger version fitting the Charr characters.

> @"Donari.5237" said:

> So maybe ANet is in trouble. Probably it's not.

And if it were, what would the signs be?

Big layoffs?

Important people who have had been with the studio for a long time leaving?

Lower earnings?

Unclear and uncomitted plans about the future?

> @"kratan.4619" said:

> Everybody is replaceable, a lot of people think they are not, but they all are.

Sure...

...If, and that's a big if, ArenaNet gets new people as talented as those who left in order to replace them.

And is ArenaNet going to get new talented and experienced people right now?

Above I used Kotaku as an example; let's see [their headlines under the "ArenaNet" tag](https://kotaku.com/tag/arenanet) in the last 12 months:

* Source: Departing ArenaNet Co-Founder Was Working On Potential Guild Wars Sequel

* Guild Wars Gets An Update For Its 14th Birthday

* Guild Wars 2 Developer ArenaNet Plans For Mass Layoffs

* The ArenaNet Catastrophe Has The Whole Game Industry Rethinking Harassment Policies

So we get a co-founder leaving, an update to the older game in the franchise, mass layoffs, and the whole JP issue.

If you were a talented game developer, would any of the above entice you to work there? How about ArenaNet's reputation of paying less than most other gaming studios?

Saying everyone is replaceable doesn't mean everyone will be replaced.

> @"Greg.7086" said:

> Glass if half-full style point of view: Old developers can become lazy & complacement, lack direction or any fresh new ideas

It's interesting that the "half-full" point of view is the one insulting some of the most important ArenaNet's developers.

> @"Blude.6812" said:

> Is maintenance mode just around the corner?

Doesn't look like ArenaNet is too deep into finantial trouble.

However, my main concern after the layoffs was the company's morale - now that GW2 is the only (and likely last) game ArenaNet has, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the employees who have been there for a long time decide to leave. There's only so much time one can stand working on the same project, after all.

Whether or not GW2 can afford to lose that many experienced developers, in other hand...

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> Interesting article despite being from Kotaku

The "behind the scenes" articles at Kotaku are often very good (despite all their other issues).

Interesting to see how much the layoffs continue to impact ArenaNet.

Apparently, [8 developers](https://kotaku.com/source-departing-arenanet-president-was-working-on-pot-1838755217) have left ArenaNet.

So [Mike O'Brien is leaving ArenaNet](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/89289/a-message-from-mike-obrien).

He's not the only one, though.

[isaiah Cartwright](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Isaiah_Cartwright) is also gone. [Tirzah Bauer](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tirzah_Bauer), too. Apparently some others as well.

While they may not have been founders, they also deserve a farewell. I wish all of them luck on their next game studio.

> @"Ashantara.8731" said:

> And then NCsoft could decide to cancel further development of the game. _Great_ idea. ;)

Yeah, changing the amount of free templates from 3 to 6 would _definitely_ make ArenaNet go bankrupt and lead NC Soft to sell them. _Great_ insight ;)

> @"DoRi Silvia.4159" said:

> Im sure ANET cannot and will not say anything about this as it is a very touchy subject but I just wanted to say i feel for these guys because I know how Koreans can be when it comes to money and knowing what NC is like over in the korean market I can speculate that they will be pressuring ANET at this time of hardship to squeeze out $$$ from players

And thus, what could we do about it?

The best we can do is speak as loudly as possible against this, so ArenaNet can show NC Soft how much of an outcry their decision has caused and how said outcry could hurt more than help the game on the long run.

So those who are complaining about this are actually doing a favor to those who are just saying "everything is fine" and complaining about the "negativity".

> @"Charrbeque.8729" said:

> They can't be unlimited. People fail to realize that there's a lot of information in build/gear templates that have to be stored.

They are unlimited in the original Guild Wars.

Each build is basically a string of text with a given title, and those are stored locally. While it's not infinite (I guess one could make so many thousands of text files that the game would have trouble opening the entire list), it's basically unlimited (and really, doesn't take a significant amount of space).

For builds (and not gear), ArenaNet has already said that players can transfer them between themselves using basically a string of text, so looks like the same principles apply in GW2 that worked on the original Guild Wars. Thus, asking for unlimited build slots sounds very reasonable - just store them locally, not on ArenaNet's side.

When talking about equipment slots, though, then I agree with you - those should be limited and monetized, since they're basically inventory slots with some extra capabilities.

Now that we know more about the Build Template system, I'm curious about what's the demand for it.

If the Build Template system were more similar to the one in the original Guild Wars - free and with unlimited slots -, how many tabs would you use on your most played character?

(Do notice I'm talking about the character-based Build Template tab, not the Equipment Template tab or the account-based Build Storage Space. A Build Template tab allows a player to save a build for a specific character.)

(And do notice that, in the poll's title, I said "char" - title character limit doesn't like me ;_; - and not Charr :P)

> @"Obtena.7952" said:

> This is cute image, but nothing you're going to say changes the fact that it breaks the TOS ...

Then how about [something ArenaNet's Chris Cleary said](https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/1570/psa-build-templates-by-arcdps-green-lighted-by-arenanet)?

Then again, maybe he's a FBI mole under disguise? :o

> @"Obtena.7952" said:

> If you think this isn't something people should expect to pay for, your expectations are massively out of whack. I'm not accusing people of being bad or selfish because they don't want to pay; that's a choice people have to decide for themselves. They are bad and selfish because they think they shouldn't have to pay because they got it for free elsewhere ... illegally.

Yeah, arcdps is completely illegal, I heard the guy using it next door has been taken away by the FBI. Watch out, who knows who will be next? ;)

> @"Luthan.5236" said:

> So ... I don't see a need for Cantha atm.

That's mostly because:

> @"Luthan.5236" said:

> Atm in Kaineng city and I don't know about the 2 later big regions still to explore.

So yeah, "don't judge a book by its cover" and etc.

The original chapter of Guild Wars was playing it very safe - we had the fields region, the jungle region, the cold region, the desert region and the lava region. All very old and tired tropes in fantasy settings.

Then Factions gave us a petrified forest carved as gothic temples, and a sea made of jade.

It's really no wonder that people miss Cantha so much.

Even the slums - when you read about the "behind the scenes" stuff from the time, ArenaNet mentioned how they didn't have the ability to create what they had envisioned for the city. GW2's engine would allow them to get much closer to what they had originally dreamt about.

> @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said:

> For example, large part of in-game weapons and armor come from the core bundle. But since then, Anet has updated visuals which is why HoT and PoF have higher requirements. That means that any BL set in recent years has some objective qualities that are better than a big chunk of in-game rewards.

Not to mention how in-game sets are reskins far more often than Gem Store weapons.

For example, during the Living World season 4, as far as full weapon sets are concerned, we got as in-game rewards:

* Astral weapons

* Stellar weapons

* Dragonsblood weapons

* Heroic Dragonsblood weapons

* Weapons of the Scion

* Mist Lord's weapons

But of those, Stellar weapons are just Astral weapons with a bit of particle effects, Heroic Dragonsblood weapons are just Dragonsblood weapons with a few changes, and the Weapons of the Scion are basically the old crafted ascended weapons in a new color and with a subtle particle effect.

Meanwhile, during the same time, we got the following weapon sets through the Gem Store:

* Glacial weapon skins

* Alchemist weapon skins

* Inquest Mark II weapon skins

* Desert King weapon skins

* Equinox weapon skins

* Mad Realm weapon skins

* Orchestral weapon skins

* Defiant Glass weapon skins

* Branded weapon skins

* Bioluminescent weapon skins

* Endless Ocean weapon skins

Guess how many of those were reskins?

> @"AlexxxDelta.1806" said:

> And should we turn a blind eye to an obviously exploitative, unethical and manipulative practice because some parents don't have their kids on a tight leash? I refuse to let the thief off the hook because the home owner left the door unlocked. The main problem is the thief, not the unlocked door.

And this is the main argument, IMO.

We **know** loot boxes are predatory. We know everything about them - the user interface when opening them, the "limited offer"-kind of deals, the fact they're bought with points and not directly with money, and so on - has been designed to promote impulsive buying and spending more money than a person would rationally be willing to spend. We also know how obtuse and dense gaming companies' representatives were during the UK hearings about loot boxes, because said representatives know very well what they're doing is exploiting people.

There isn't a reason to not forbid gaming companies from exploiting people, when everyone involved knows they're being exploitative.

Taimi.

If not her, then Braham.

> @"SEED.9051" said:

> >setting Player Model Quality to lowest

> > So yeah, my game actually looks better than yours ;)

>

>

> "I play on lowest settings; so my game looks better than yours :#"

So you think high texture quality is the lowest setting? Have you ever seen the options menu, or did you just play the game without bothering with any setting at all?

That would explain a lot, actually.