Suggestion: item to purchase on the BLTP to unlock and master Oak Heart, Lava Tube, Leyline Gliding

[Danikat.8537]

This is reminding me of my old April Fools idea: a gem store equivalent of Warcraft 2's 'There Can Be Only One' cheat code which would literally let you pay to win. You buy the item, double click it, the end cinematic from Victory or Death plays and...that's it. You're back in LA, you've won and that's the end of it. Except nothing has actually changed (and no, it wouldn't complete the story step or give you the rewards or anything like that).

 

For those who didn't play Warcraft 2 that is literally how the cheat worked. It's both one of the most over-powered and most utterly pointless cheat codes I've encountered, you skipped to the end cinematic for your campaign and got to watch that and the credits as if you'd beaten the game, but then you were back at the menu screen having not actually achieved anything and your options were to carry on from your last save before you used the cheat or stop playing, so it was totally irrelevant.

 

Which is pretty much how I feel about options that let you pay to bypass part of a game too. The point of playing a game isn't to get to the end as fast as possible, it's to play it and to have fun doing it. So paying to skip playing the game is actually paying to make your own experience _worse_. I can understand sometimes using short-cuts for repetative things, like using tomes to level alts, but skipping something you only have to do once and which encourages you to explore the map and increases the chances you'll find a bunch of other stuff to do along the way has no real benefit and a lot of downsides for players.

 

(And if you don't care about exploring the maps, or don't care about open-world PvE at all then it would be even more pointless for you because these masteries are only using in living story episodes so you could save yourself even more time and some money but just not doing it at all.)

[NanoEliteSixSixSix.8935]

Ooh, I know. Sell me a mech on the gem store. A proper Armored Core-style mech with a bajillion extra parts to tinker with so I can go on a power trip amd roflstomp all over everything in the game. Those Elder Dragons won't know what hit 'em.

[Tyncale.1629]

I would not buy this. For me, unlocking that sort of Masteries is part of the fun though I wish we could use them in more then a few maps.

I wasn't even sure what to do with the free Waypoint Unlock box we got a few weeks ago. Considered just deleting it because just unlocking waypoints is barely an advantage. I used it on an Alt for the Orrian zones but not sure what use it will have. If I ever decide to explore that region with the Alt, then working through the zone will unlock the waypoints naturally anyway, in a more fun way.

 

I guess the unlock could be useful for those that want instant access to the few waypoints that are near World bosses or big events and can not be bothered to hoof it first.

[Trise.2865]

Why stop? For only $1000USD per month, you won't have to play the game at all!

[Tommo Chocolate.5870]

I don't understand who would buy this, and why. I can't really imagine that anyone would if they understood what it was, especially if it "would not be cheap". If I recall correctly, you get the mastery points and experience needed for most of those masteries just by playing the story and exploring the maps of the episodes they were introduced in. You do now have to pay for those episodes if you didn't log in to unlock them, so to me this feels like it would be paying for something that you've effectively already paid for - and removing some of the sense of progression from that episode in the process. ANet's monetisation is always heavily scrutinised, and I don't think this would go down well.

 

The OP's reasoning seems to be that ANet needs to sell something, this is something, therefore they should sell it. I hope they understand that any suggestion needs more justification than that - but they don't seem to have provided any.

 

> @"Evon Skyfyre.9673" said:

> The item could also be a way to 0 - 80 the needed exp to speed up the process.

 

Surely you can already buy a level 80 boost for this!?

[Evon Skyfyre.9673]

> @"Tommo Chocolate.5870" said:

> I don't understand who would buy this, and why. I can't really imagine that anyone would if they understood what it was, especially if it "would not be cheap". If I recall correctly, you get the mastery points and experience needed for most of those masteries just by playing the story and exploring the maps of the episodes they were introduced in. You do now have to pay for those episodes if you didn't log in to unlock them, so to me this feels like it would be paying for something that you've effectively already paid for - and removing some of the sense of progression from that episode in the process. ANet's monetisation is always heavily scrutinised, and I don't think this would go down well.

>

> The OP's reasoning seems to be that ANet needs to sell something, this is something, therefore they should sell it. I hope they understand that any suggestion needs more justification than that - but they don't seem to have provided any.

>

> > @"Evon Skyfyre.9673" said:

> > The item could also be a way to 0 - 80 the needed exp to speed up the process.

>

> Surely you can already buy a level 80 boost for this!?

 

You'd be amazed at what players will buy. I play a game where some spend thousands to stay competitive. I have the same or similar roster to theirs but I took a bit longer grinding it out, while they spent and got their roster built up over night in comparison. It's crazy to me, but they do it. If items as I suggest or different are added, some will buy it. Like George Carlin said " You glue 2 things together that have never been glued together before, some dummy will buy it". The only reason I see that the items I suggested would be viewed as bad, are players thinking the game would be pay to win. This would not be the case, as the 3 I suggest have no bearing on balance, and would only help the game by helping new players catch up to the pack in game.

[Hashberry.4510]

Mounts are the method ANet provides for new players to catch up, while generating revenue from gem store skins. Its a rather clever nerf to old content, as the terrain is one of the big challenges to surpass as you progress.

[Evon Skyfyre.9673]

> @"Hashberry.4510" said:

> Mounts are the method ANet provides for new players to catch up, while generating revenue from gem store skins. Its a rather clever nerf to old content, as the terrain is one of the big challenges to surpass as you progress.

 

I can see your logic. As much as I love mounts, adding them, added headaches. But I'm sure they weighed the pros and cons.

[voltaicbore.8012]

> @"Evon Skyfyre.9673" said:

> The only reason I see that the items I suggested would be viewed as bad, are players thinking the game would be pay to win. This would not be the case, as the 3 I suggest have no bearing on balance, and would only help the game by helping new players catch up to the pack in game.

 

You _sort_ of address this in passing in your OP, but the masteries you mentioned are actually completely useless outside of the specific maps they can be used on. They're not going to help a new player with anything new. All it would do is help them finish completely optional content that has absolutely no impact on their ability to navigate other parts of the game.

 

> @"Evon Skyfyre.9673" said:

>The benefit would be, more having access to such skills would also add more versatility to upcoming content.

 

Nothing in the game thus far indicates that these long-forgotten mastery lines will be made relevant outside of the specific maps they were meant for. In fact, this is precisely why many strongly dislike the current icebrood saga masteries - they are similar to all the other throwaway masteries from previous seasons, but Anet somehow found a way to make them even more useless than usual. So unless you were thinking Anet could find a reason/the willingness to include these abandoned mechanics in future maps, your idea would help exactly 0 people "catch up."

 

> @"Tommo Chocolate.5870" said:

 

> The OP's reasoning seems to be that ANet needs to sell something, this is something, therefore they should sell it. I hope they understand that any suggestion needs more justification than that - but they don't seem to have provided any.

 

This is exactly the problem I have with @"Evon Skyfyre.9673"'s entire line of reasoning here. The only possible justification for this would be stuff like:

 

> @"Evon Skyfyre.9673" said:

>You'd be amazed at what players will buy. I play a game where some spend thousands to stay competitive. I have the same or similar roster to theirs but I took a bit longer grinding it out, while they spent and got their roster built up over night in comparison. It's crazy to me, but they do it.

 

So there's a "crazy" monetization practice that happens in a completely different game you play, and you think it's a good idea to bring the same irrational/predatory practices into this one. This is one of the dumbest things I've heard on this forum, which is saying a lot. What makes it even dumber is that you explicitly say the GW2 version of this would _not_ be pay to win. At least in your other mobile game the people who pay to get ahead do, in fact, get ahead. These masteries do not improve quality of life, nor do they contribute to Fashion Wars. You're literally suggesting that Anet start selling something just because they can make a buck from it.

 

I, too, could probably make a temporary burst of revenue by adding some random fees to services I render for my clients. I know other, more hated businesses do it all the time. I would never do that though, because my business isn't one of those crappier/distrusted ones, the kind that sell you snake oil or some imaginary "undercoating" on a car. In fact, my business could never survive taking that kind of trust or reputational hit. Just because something can be done (and is being done by others) doesn't make it a good idea for you to do the same.

[kharmin.7683]

I don't understand how adding mounts added headaches.

[Voltekka.2375]

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> I don't understand how adding mounts added headaches.

 

Except maybe in wvw, but in pve, I also dont get it.

[Evon Skyfyre.9673]

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> I don't understand how adding mounts added headaches.

 

Not for players, for the devs. Once we had gliding I was able to get to places I prolly shouldn't. But I asked them and was warned off lol. So, not losing sleep headaches but "Damn how did they get into...?". Like dismount and glide. It was easy to use that and fall protection and get to the end of several tougher jump puzzles that will not be named. Lol Or, highjump, dismount, glide, and so on. Can't say more as I promised I wouldn't.

[Hashberry.4510]

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> I don't understand how adding mounts added headaches.

 

They enabled careless players to be even more careless, imo. A bit of a downside there.

[Evon Skyfyre.9673]

I'm out, this is going nowhere. Happy Holidays. Byèeeeeeee

[kharmin.7683]

Probably because many of us found this to be an unreasonable request.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Evon Skyfyre.9673" said:

> There should be an item to purchase on the BLTP to unlock and master Oak Heart, Lava Tube, Leyline Gliding, that is bought with gems. This item would not be cheap, but I have a feeling many would buy it. The item would unlock/master one of the skills I have mentioned.

 

Sure. Why play a game when you can instead skip everything in it? It's so much more fun to have no goals and to not have to do a thing but stand in a big city and play Fashion Wars! ;)

[particlepinata.9865]

I dont know if your trolling or requesting full pay to win whaling, could be both.