Sors Immani.8429 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 The budget gamer in me has serious reservations. First, a little backstory: I played GW1 extensively through the original 3 campaigns + EN. Took a break when GW2 was announced. Got invited to the GW2 beta, played extensively again at launch and through LW s2. Got burned badly after seeing the company do a 180 on their "no expacs ever/ 2 week cadence" press release when HoT was announced. Been away since (2013, I believe? perhaps 2014?). I've been rehashing my adventures through Tyria, Cantha, and Elona on GW1 lately, and it's making me want to give GW2 a shot. I have no problems with buying the newest expansion. I do, however, wonder why HoT has not been included with the base game yet. $60 US is a bit of a hurdle to clear to get back into 8 yr old game and enjoy new-ish content. Nostalgia is strong, but not that strong. Even just making the expansions purchasable in the gem shop (instead of just an upgrade to deluxe) would be a nice addition. Yes, I am aware that _the_ other major MMO on the market, _the one which folds in all previous expansions to the base game so that customers need only purchase the most recent expansion_, uses a subscription model which GW2 does not. I would kindly direct your attention that _that_ particular game also allows you to exchange in-game gold for IRL currency, which can be used in their in-game shop to purchase expansions for _that_ game or any other they offer. I would also kindly inform you that as of 2015, I have been able to meet all of my purchasing needs with said game (and their company) -including "subscription"- via this currency exchange. But that is neither here nor now. It is not my place to give ANet marketing advice, or any other for that matter, in regards of how to run their company. Speaking for myself, when they decide to fold in all but the most recent expansion into the base game, perhaps then I'll answer the call to nostalgia and bring my necromancer out of retirement. Until then, cheers, and thank you for making a most beautiful & stylish game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarshallLaw.9260 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 > @"Sors Immani.8429" said: > The budget gamer in me has serious reservations. > > First, a little backstory: > > I played GW1 extensively through the original 3 campaigns + EN. Took a break when GW2 was announced. > > Got invited to the GW2 beta, played extensively again at launch and through LW s2. Got burned badly after seeing the company do a 180 on their "no expacs ever/ 2 week cadence" press release when HoT was announced. > > Been away since (2013, I believe? perhaps 2014?). > > I've been rehashing my adventures through Tyria, Cantha, and Elona on GW1 lately, and it's making me want to give GW2 a shot. I have no problems with buying the newest expansion. > > I do, however, wonder why HoT has not been included with the base game yet. $60 US is a bit of a hurdle to clear to get back into 8 yr old game and enjoy new-ish content. Nostalgia is strong, but not that strong. Even just making the expansions purchasable in the gem shop (instead of just an upgrade to deluxe) would be a nice addition. > > Yes, I am aware that _the_ other major MMO on the market, _the one which folds in all previous expansions to the base game so that customers need only purchase the most recent expansion_, uses a subscription model which GW2 does not. I would kindly direct your attention that _that_ particular game also allows you to exchange in-game gold for IRL currency, which can be used in their in-game shop to purchase expansions for _that_ game or any other they offer. I would also kindly inform you that as of 2015, I have been able to meet all of my purchasing needs with said game (and their company) -including "subscription"- via this currency exchange. > > But that is neither here nor now. It is not my place to give ANet marketing advice, or any other for that matter, in regards of how to run their company. Speaking for myself, when they decide to fold in all but the most recent expansion into the base game, perhaps then I'll answer the call to nostalgia and bring my necromancer out of retirement. > > Until then, cheers, and thank you for making a most beautiful & stylish game. You can buy HoT for around £10 (which google converts to about $13.50). It's a tonne of content but if you think it's too expensive, that's your loss. EDIT: > @"Sors Immani.8429" said: > I do, however, wonder why HoT has not been included with the base game yet. $60 US is a bit of a hurdle to clear to get back into 8 yr old game GW2 was released 28th August 2012 - that's not even 6 years. HoT was released October 23rd 2015 (less than 3 years ago) so what you are paying for isn't even 3 year old content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcShriek.5829 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Not sure where you get the $60.00 US figure from. $30 for PoF. $50 for Pof & Hot. I think it's $30 for Hot alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaldaRaric.6305 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 The base game is free now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zohane.7208 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > The base game is free now. A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goettel.4389 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 $30 is a steal for HoT, as is $50 for HoT+PoF. YMMV :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin.6921 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Zohane.7208" said: > > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > > The base game is free now. > A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. Why severely limited? Its the base game just with limited access to the TP and a few other anti-bot limitations. Other than that its the exactsame game as it existed for the first 3 years. On the OP matter. As others said. Its not 60 for HoT. Its 50 for both expansions. Its less of the standard price of a full single player game. 30 each if you buy separately. And there are places like DLGamer that have constant discounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durzlla.6295 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 The only problem I have with how they have the pricing is how they handle living world seasons. Personally I think previous living world seasons should be included with the following xpac purchase. IE: you buy HoTs and you also get LW S2, you buy PoF you get LWs 3 etc. that way you at least have the events leading up to the xpac instead of just being confused at all the time and event gaps happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danikat.8537 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Turin.6921" said: > > @"Zohane.7208" said: > > > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > > > The base game is free now. > > A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. > > Why severely limited? Its the base game just with limited access to the TP and a few other anti-bot limitations. Other than that its the exactsame game as it existed for the first 3 years. > > On the OP matter. As others said. Its not 60 for HoT. Its 50 for both expansions. Its less of the standard price of a full single player game. 30 each if you buy separately. And there are places like DLGamer that have constant discounts. I guess it depends on what your priorities are. I couldn't play for long on a free account because I get really frustrated by being unable to use map chat, having only 2 character slots and only 3 bag slots, being unable to buy or sell most items on the TP, being unable to buy gems with gold and not getting login rewards. There are many more restrictions, but those are the ones that bother me most. If I played it more I suspect not being able to get to Lion's Arch before level 35 would also frustrate me. (Plus gliding, mounts and other benefits from the expansions and all the optional things I've got on my paid account like outfits, minis, extra bank tabs, shared inventory slots etc. but I try not to include those because the base game didn't have them either.) You're right that the entire base game is available - you can play all the way through your personal story and do 100% map completion, do dungeons, play PvP and WvW etc. so the restrictions seem quite minor. But in practice it reminds me a lot of the demo or freeware versions of games you used to get, which don't seem to exist much these days for some reason. It's enough to let you see what the game is really like, and if you really cannot afford it you can keep stick with it, but given the choice I wouldn't want to keep playing the free version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseofGilead.8907 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Turin.6921" said: > > @"Zohane.7208" said: > > > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > > > The base game is free now. > > A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. > > Why severely limited? Its the base game just with limited access to the TP and a few other anti-bot limitations. Other than that its the exactsame game as it existed for the first 3 years. You also can't use Map chat, can't do currency exchange, don't get log-in rewards, can only whisper people in the same map as you (unless they've added you as a friend), only have two character slots, can't leave starter zones until level 10 on each character, can't go to LA until level 35, can't use guild bank or guild enhancements, can't send gold or items via mail, can't use map/say chat during pvp matches, can only do wvw once one character reaches level 60, etc. It's quite restricted when compared to the paid version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin.6921 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Danikat.8537" said: > You're right that the entire base game is available - you can play all the way through your personal story and do 100% map completion, do dungeons, play PvP and WvW etc. so the restrictions seem quite minor. But in practice it reminds me a lot of the demo or freeware versions of games you used to get, which don't seem to exist much these days for some reason. It's enough to let you see what the game is really like, and if you really cannot afford it you can keep stick with it, but given the choice I wouldn't want to keep playing the free version. Well the devs called it sth like a very extended trial. But This is all the content that kept players busy for first full 2-3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin.6921 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"RoseofGilead.8907" said: > > @"Turin.6921" said: > > > @"Zohane.7208" said: > > > > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > > > > The base game is free now. > > > A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. > > > > Why severely limited? Its the base game just with limited access to the TP and a few other anti-bot limitations. Other than that its the exactsame game as it existed for the first 3 years. > > You also can't use Map chat, can't do currency exchange, don't get log-in rewards, can only whisper people in the same map as you (unless they've added you as a friend), only have two character slots, can't leave starter zones until level 10 on each character, can't go to LA until level 35, can't use guild bank or guild enhancements, can't send gold or items via mail, can't use map/say chat during pvp matches, can only do wvw once one character reaches level 60, etc. It's quite restricted when compared to the paid version. > > These are all anti-bot measures. They really do not affect the actual content you are playing. The actual base content you can enjoy fully without paying a dime. If you think that is restricted then you have not taken a look into other f2p games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zohane.7208 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"RoseofGilead.8907" said: > > @"Turin.6921" said: > > > @"Zohane.7208" said: > > > > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > > > > The base game is free now. > > > A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. > > > > Why severely limited? Its the base game just with limited access to the TP and a few other anti-bot limitations. Other than that its the exactsame game as it existed for the first 3 years. > > You also can't use Map chat, can't do currency exchange, don't get log-in rewards, can only whisper people in the same map as you (unless they've added you as a friend), only have two character slots, can't leave starter zones until level 10 on each character, can't go to LA until level 35, can't use guild bank or guild enhancements, can't send gold or items via mail, can't use map/say chat during pvp matches, can only do wvw once one character reaches level 60, etc. It's quite restricted when compared to the paid version. > > This is indeed why I said "quite severly limited" :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danikat.8537 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Something I'm curious about: When 'The Other MMO' * folds the previous expansion into the base game what does that mean for existing players who didn't already have it? If I was an active subscriber but for whatever reason I'd decided not to buy it would I get access to it for free now? What if I owned the base game but hadn't played for a couple of years? If I came back would I have the expansion/s which had been folded into the base game for free, or would I have to buy the latest one and get them bundled with it? I'm just curious because the way the OP says it makes it sound like people who own the game get the expansions for free if they wait a while, but I've never seen it done that way. The nearest I know of is Elder Scrolls Online which is about to release it's second expansion and turn the first into a DLC - meaning subscribers get access to it as part of their subscription. The only other option I've encountered is that buying the latest expansion gets you all the previous ones as well. So it's cheaper and easier than buying them all individually (especially if you had to pay full, release day price, for each) but it still means returning players have to pay _something_ to get all the new content. *That name always makes me think of 'The Scottish Play', as if it's a similar connotation - it's hard to avoid mentioning but bad luck to actually name it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliamRationem.5172 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Sors Immani.8429" said: > The budget gamer in me has serious reservations. > > First, a little backstory: > > I played GW1 extensively through the original 3 campaigns + EN. Took a break when GW2 was announced. > > Got invited to the GW2 beta, played extensively again at launch and through LW s2. Got burned badly after seeing the company do a 180 on their "no expacs ever/ 2 week cadence" press release when HoT was announced. > > Been away since (2013, I believe? perhaps 2014?). > > I've been rehashing my adventures through Tyria, Cantha, and Elona on GW1 lately, and it's making me want to give GW2 a shot. I have no problems with buying the newest expansion. > > I do, however, wonder why HoT has not been included with the base game yet. $60 US is a bit of a hurdle to clear to get back into 8 yr old game and enjoy new-ish content. Nostalgia is strong, but not that strong. Even just making the expansions purchasable in the gem shop (instead of just an upgrade to deluxe) would be a nice addition. > > Yes, I am aware that _the_ other major MMO on the market, _the one which folds in all previous expansions to the base game so that customers need only purchase the most recent expansion_, uses a subscription model which GW2 does not. I would kindly direct your attention that _that_ particular game also allows you to exchange in-game gold for IRL currency, which can be used in their in-game shop to purchase expansions for _that_ game or any other they offer. I would also kindly inform you that as of 2015, I have been able to meet all of my purchasing needs with said game (and their company) -including "subscription"- via this currency exchange. > > But that is neither here nor now. It is not my place to give ANet marketing advice, or any other for that matter, in regards of how to run their company. Speaking for myself, when they decide to fold in all but the most recent expansion into the base game, perhaps then I'll answer the call to nostalgia and bring my necromancer out of retirement. > > Until then, cheers, and thank you for making a most beautiful & stylish game. I wasn't aware that "that other game" allowed you to purchase the latest expansion with gold, but that would still make sense in a subscription model and not in a B2P model. Naturally, if you purchase the expansion, you're likely to play the game. With a subscription, that means you have to pay monthly to do so. With B2P, if you allow players to purchase the content without paying cash, there is no guarantee of that player paying any money at all. Thus B2P = You must pay for expansions. One interesting thing to note is that you don't actually need to buy the HoT expansion in order to buy/play the PoF expansion. They are designed to exist independently of one another, unlike that other game. So, if the price is too high you could always give PoF a go and skip HoT for now. Maybe it turns out later you enjoy the game enough that the purchase price of HoT makes more sense to you. Or maybe not, in which case you only invested the lower purchase price of PoF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseofGilead.8907 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Turin.6921" said: > > @"RoseofGilead.8907" said: > > > @"Turin.6921" said: > > > > @"Zohane.7208" said: > > > > > @"CaldaRaric.6305" said: > > > > > The base game is free now. > > > > A quite severly limited version of the base game is free. The full base game is included in the price of either of the 2 expansions. > > > > > > Why severely limited? Its the base game just with limited access to the TP and a few other anti-bot limitations. Other than that its the exactsame game as it existed for the first 3 years. > > > > You also can't use Map chat, can't do currency exchange, don't get log-in rewards, can only whisper people in the same map as you (unless they've added you as a friend), only have two character slots, can't leave starter zones until level 10 on each character, can't go to LA until level 35, can't use guild bank or guild enhancements, can't send gold or items via mail, can't use map/say chat during pvp matches, can only do wvw once one character reaches level 60, etc. It's quite restricted when compared to the paid version. > > > > > > These are all anti-bot measures. They really do not affect the actual content you are playing. The actual base content you can enjoy fully without paying a dime. If you think that is restricted then you have not taken a look into other f2p games. I have, indeed, seen other f2p games and their restrictions. I wasn't comparing GW2's free version to those other games, though. I was comparing it to the paid version, and it is very restricted when compared to the paid version. And yes, of course those are anti-bot measures. But those measures would have definitely had a less-than-positive impact on my gameplay if I started out with that instead of what we start out with in the paid game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseofGilead.8907 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Danikat.8537" said: > Something I'm curious about: When 'The Other MMO' * folds the previous expansion into the base game what does that mean for existing players who didn't already have it? If I was an active subscriber but for whatever reason I'd decided not to buy it would I get access to it for free now? What if I owned the base game but hadn't played for a couple of years? If I came back would I have the expansion/s which had been folded into the base game for free, or would I have to buy the latest one and get them bundled with it? Ignore what I originally said. My husband says that you do, indeed, get all expansions added to your game after they come out, except for the most recent one. Slow brain this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin.6921 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 > @"Danikat.8537" said: > Something I'm curious about: When 'The Other MMO' * folds the previous expansion into the base game what does that mean for existing players who didn't already have it? If I was an active subscriber but for whatever reason I'd decided not to buy it would I get access to it for free now? What if I owned the base game but hadn't played for a couple of years? If I came back would I have the expansion/s which had been folded into the base game for free, or would I have to buy the latest one and get them bundled with it? > > I'm just curious because the way the OP says it makes it sound like people who own the game get the expansions for free if they wait a while, but I've never seen it done that way. The nearest I know of is Elder Scrolls Online which is about to release it's second expansion and turn the first into a DLC - meaning subscribers get access to it as part of their subscription. > > The only other option I've encountered is that buying the latest expansion gets you all the previous ones as well. So it's cheaper and easier than buying them all individually (especially if you had to pay full, release day price, for each) but it still means returning players have to pay _something_ to get all the new content. > > *That name always makes me think of 'The Scottish Play', as if it's a similar connotation - it's hard to avoid mentioning but bad luck to actually name it. Yeah that is accurate. If you were a constant subscriber you would get the expansion for free after a couple of years. There are a few caveats though. First you are paying for the sub so its not fully free. Secondly at the price that you get both expansions in GW2 you get one with WOW. Thirdly the player base tends to follow to the new content cause of the increase in level cap that makes older content less relevant. Taking a capped character to content 2 expansions back you faceroll everything solo. As opposed to that GW2 content stays relevant for as long as the community is not bored of it. HoT maps, older fractals and raids are still played daily and farmed by everyone. Its content made to be repeatable for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now