Nature of Rewards -> Exclusive or Not

[Revilrad.1962]

I aim to get an idea what kind of rewards the playerbase of the game expects.

2 Options are eloborated here:

1 - Play the Game -> Completionist Friendly, Rewards are never exclusive, either in time (only during some events) - in quantity (numbered amount of titles) - or in social accesibility (only for raiders/PvP) The Motivation of pushing forward is more completionist minded. Aim of the player is more like running forward a 100% completion, while ANET's Job is to make that run longer and longer by adding more content.

2- Play the Players -> Elitist minded. The Value of the games rewards are measured with its exclusivness. Comparsion against other players is a constant need. The Motivation of pushing forward is the fear of getting behind, trying to acclaim rewards which can give you prestige against other players. ANET's Job is to make it possible to display those exlusive rewards, while not punishing the lower percantage too hard.

 

Important : This will seem like arguments about "challenging Content" I want you to assume that ANET is capable of delivering challengin content whatever cours the game takes. Not exclusive Rewards doesnt mean boring grindy content.It is also not about being hardcore or casual. It is also not about not having Raids or PvP.

At the moment the game tries to take a hybrid approach. Game pushes in one direction (adding Raids tieing legendary armor to them) and later pushes again in the other direction (making old rewards avaiable by addindg them to a merchant)

 

[Dreadshow.9320]

Unless it's from pre order or something similar achievable through game play.

[Danikat.8537]

I picked the first one but it's not entirely accurate. It doesn't matter how they're obtained, only that it's possible to try.

 

I have no objection to things like the gold princess llama mini for example - even though I'll almost certainly never get one because I don't do PvP and when I've tried I'm terrible at it. Because if I wanted to I could try and get it. Whereas something like the mini Liadri was completely impossible for everyone for the past few years - it doesn't matter how good you are or what you're willing to do, you couldn't even attempt to get it. To me there's a world of difference between those two situations.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

Personally, I think a robust game has a variety of types of rewards, not just two types. Random drops, things you can work on as leisurely or as intensely as you like (e.g. grind or not), rewards from accomplishments, skill or challenge rewards, exclusive rewards for being at the right place & right time, things you can purchase, things that you get for a contest, and more.

 

The mix is always going to be tricky, as everyone has their own preference. And, sometimes, we don't even realize how much we appreciate the other types of rewards until we don't have them.

 

I don't think there's just two options, and I think there's a complex spectrum of in-between implementations that would satisfy a lot of folks.

[Revilrad.1962]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> Personally, I think a robust game has a variety of types of rewards, not just two types. Random drops, things you can work on as leisurely or as intensely as you like (e.g. grind or not), rewards from accomplishments, skill or challenge rewards, exclusive rewards for being at the right place & right time, things you can purchase, things that you get for a contest, and more.

>

> The mix is always going to be tricky, as everyone has their own preference. And, sometimes, we don't even realize how much we appreciate the other types of rewards until we don't have them.

>

> I don't think there's just two options, and I think there's a complex spectrum of in-between implementations that would satisfy a lot of folks.

 

GW2 trying exactly that. The Reason I didn't added the 3rd Option of "mixed" is because majority would choose that option., becasue it is not an option at all. Forcing to choose can get you more results, albait lacking the crucial Grey-Areas I admit.

[lokh.2695]

My vote would actually fall somewhere in the middle. But since I don't think much of rewards for mere participation I might tend more to the second option. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that I can get a legendary armor and a backpiece from PvP that doesn't require me to win or be especially good at it. It's just a time sink and if you're good at PvP you'll get there faster but I'll get there too eventually. I don't think that this distribution model for this reward serves the game mode however. There are ppl out there who want to play competitive PvP, who want to be the best and they should get the best rewards and they should be exclusive to those ppl so that the reward has value. As it is now, everyone can get a legendary armor from pvp, it just depends on the amount of time a person is willing to spend in that mode. The armor as a reward is close to worthless in that sense. It's still a fun asset to any account and I go for it because of that, but I would never brag about it because it says nothing about my PvP skill. How long it took me would say something about that. But that's just an example. In a MMO, exclusiveness can be a great part of the perceived worth of a reward, much more than actual gold worth or any QoL functions that might come with the reward. Ppl want to feel special. Look at the gen1 legendaries for example, craft one if you like the skin but if you're going for that unique look you will have to look elsewhere because having Twighlight means nothing now since it lost its exclisiveness.

 

Having rewards locked behind a time window isn't all that good, so I like when rewards stay in game available or ar at least tied to something reocurring like the festivals. Locking rewards behind certain types of content, like the GoB, GoE, Raid-stuff, is legit in my book. If I want to have that legendary wvw backpiece, I have to play wvw, it's fine like that. Another thought, when every reward is locked behind playtime only, wouldn't it become more and more grindier? I don't mind grindy achievements, did many of them, but if that's all that is left I think ppl would be unhappy with it.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

> @"Revilrad.1962" said:

 

> GW2 trying exactly that. The Reason I didn't added the 3rd Option of "mixed" is because majority would choose that option., becasue it is not an option at all. Forcing to choose can get you more results, albait lacking the crucial Grey-Areas I admit.

I don't understand... you're leaving out the option that most prefer, the option that ANet is actually strives to implement because... it's not an option?

 

Forcing people to choose among unrealistic options is a good way to get fewer results, because lot's of people won't bother attempting to shoehorn their views into the "wrong" box.

 

 

 

 

[Haishao.6851]

I think rewards should be exclusive to certain content. But that content and its rewards should not be trashed like they did with season 1. So be there at the right place, yes. At the right time, not so much.

 

The only time I think that exclusivity should be broken is between PvE and PvP/WvW. PvE rewards should be available in some way in PvP/WvW and PvP/WvW rewards should be available in some way in PvE. The reason is because they're entirely different games.

 

Getting any rewards for doing anything we want, in whatever way we want is ridiculous imo. They wouldn't be "rewards" anymore.

[Jojo.6140]

You are already judging the two options while you describe them. Not a good opener for a poll.

[Ashen.2907]

I like the idea of some of each option.

[Revilrad.1962]

Well I dont want ro judge anyone or Force anyone to choose an Option. Option not to vote is a statement too. See it more like this : Options 1 and 2 are the extreme ends of the playerbase in that Regard. The Majority of the playerbase(my assumption) who feel they are forced into Boxes will not vote. Aim is more like to find out the Ratio of the both ends of the Spectrum.

 

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

I voted for one but my real answer would be mixed. They can be exclusive for doing certain content, such as rewards for doing high level fractals, WvW, sPvP or raids or they can be rewards for doing time limited content that becomes available at a later time for all players.

[Edelweiss.4261]

I'm generally not a fan of exclusive content. Back in January, I managed to get my hands on an unlimited hair contract. I'd still be all for extending this option to everyone else. Rarity isn't something I much care about.

 

Let's think of another option, however. What if items were timed-exclusives. Items that are hard to get today are maybe less difficult to obtain in a years time. For players that will always be trying to unlock the next big item, they will always have exclusives. Everyone else will just need to be patient. I feel like this is an acceptable concession.

[Randulf.7614]

I voted with the caveat that I dont think my playstyle is relevant. Raid stuff shouldn't be obtainable outside of raids, but there forever for example

[GrubySzymek.1362]

Without unique rewards, everything is meaningless. And that's how getting anything in gw2 is since the release - meaningless.

[Tolmos.8395]

I like my Guild Wars 1 and Queen's Gauntlet rewards. Makes me feel pretty and special. I'm not sure how pretty or special I would feel if they were achievable via other means than the ones I used to get them.

[Susy.7529]

I don't want casuals to be able to get most prestigious rewards.

[Rauderi.8706]

The options sound like propaganda, honestly.

"With my playstyle"? I mean, sure, I'd like to get Gift of Battle through some PvE-connected method (exchanging Exploration, trading in gold/spirit shards, buying off the TP), but I don't object to there being unique rewards per game mode.

 

That said, it's healthier for a game to have a vector to obtain anything in the game, with enough time, skill, and/or effort.

I'm fine if there's top-end PvP titles and skins. (I'm not interested in them, but bravo.) Same goes for WvW and raids. Do the content, get the stuff.

I'm fine if there's annual holidays that have special items. (There's always next year.)

 

But locking something off by needing to "be there" isn't healthy for a game. At the most, limiting it to annual/regular festivals is acceptable. (And yes, that includes Liadri, which I suspect is where this poll is coming from.)

 

[Overlord RainyDay.2084]

I don't really agree with either option. I'd like rewards to be prestigious, but not time-limited (except for maybe holiday achievements only being available with the festival). I think every reward should be available, should you choose to go for them. It's ok if they need you to play a different playstyle than you usually do, that encourages you to try new things, and they don't have to be easy, but they should be possible.

 

I was around for (most of) LS1. Through a lot of effort and no small amount of luck I managed to get the Hero of Lions Arch title. It wouldn't break my heart if they added a battle for Lion's Arch fractal and gave out the title for completing all the achievements. The fact that I wasn't very busy in a certain two-week period a few years ago isn't something I feel like gloating over.

[Dante.1763]

To be honest im in the middle of the two. really confused why you didnt have a bloody third option.

 

rewards that are promised to be exclusive should stay exclusive(i guess*), but in game rewards should IMO be obtainable by another similar means, and any old content that is brought back should for sure allow newer players the chance at those old rewards.(thankfully so far it has).

 

*i wouldnt personally have an issue with anet bringing in certain items from say the HoM like the FDS, fellblade, and a few of the pets into the game now.

[Ardid.7203]

> I WANT REWARDS BEING EXCLUSIVE ONLY BASED ON SKILL, NOT FOR BEING LUCKY OR GRIND RESILIENT.

[Glacial.9516]

I am highly in favor of rewards being accessible, but that doesn't mean that they should be given for nothing or that the content needs to be nerfed so more players can acquire them. Festival rewards are an example of something that Anet has handled right imo (at least, recently). The rewards given from the previous years' festivals are retained and available in future ones. They add new rewards to keep players interested while those who come late can still earn the old ones. I rarely value something highly because other players lack it, instead I try to base my value on how useful it is to me.

[Donari.5237]

Mostly I want as I voted. But like others I feel a middle ground exists. A very few "rewards" ie skins were created specifically to thank players for being there, for example the baseball cap for launch players and the armor outfit given to vets just as the game gained a free version. I wouldn't object to variations thereon being made available (I still maintain that people playing at HoT and PoF launches should have gotten baseball caps with the relevant expansion logos on them and perhaps still retroactively should) but the original skin was made to commemorate the player's participation, as a thank you to those players, and those should not be more generally released.

 

Whereas skins that were only available for a short time to buy, or to earn through in-game events that have not repeated, or via RNG for a limited time, these skins mark nothing special imo and adding them back in through a variety of means of acquisition hurts no one.

[Raithwall.8201]

Also in for a mixed approach. Some rewards should be tied to the different game modes and be exclusive to them. That said, everyone should have the possibility to obtain the reward by playing the awarding content. Prestigous and play-at-the-right-time-rewards should be hard to get or alot more expensive (a bit like living story, get it easy -for free- or pay thousands of gold/gems to get it)

But they should still be hypothetically possible to archieve.

[Mister Asdasd.6194]

Im not a selfish special little snowflake so i want everyone to be able to get whatever they like :)