When a game is only about looking good at end game and puts most of it's cosmetics behind real money costumes then it is simply a p2w game b/c winning in GW2 is looking good. No one cares about Wvw or pvp in GW2. those modes are dead. people play for costumes and flashy mounts and glowy skins etc. I doubt most people even bother with ascended gear. Cosmetics are everyting.
But I'm not surprised. They aren't making enought money so they try to squeeze as much money as they can from the playerbase for NCSoft.
You could buy gems and convert them into in-game currency since this game was released. That is more pay to win than anything you can buy in game. Okay....people can buy some crop field crap to make better food. What is easier? That or simply buying gold and paying someone else to make the food?
I am not defending any of it, just pointing out this is not new in GW2.
Well Turning Gems to Gold in Guild wars 2 is not Pay to Win what so ever, because Ascended gear and even legendary weapons are not that greater than the exotic ones. Those who try to say its pay to win don't have any clue as to what pay to win, as turning gems to gold does not give you any form of advantage in combat in this game and there is no competitive crafting market either truth be told in this game or any sort of highscore for it. You can obtain gems with gold and you can obtain gold with gems, so its not pay to win. Pay to win is something that gives you an advantage over the other player, like a physical advantage which in this game does not exist. The combat in this game is designed around skill and knowing how to play your build and the profession in which you are playing. So its time to stop the lies about it being pay to win when guild wars 2 doesn't even come close to that. Alls guild wars 2 really is, is PFL, Pay for Luxury or in other words PTC, Pay to Catchup. Most people who tend to do gems to gold are doing it to get weapon skins, armor skins, Infusion Auras, Maybe nodes for there housing and such. But none of it is classified as pay to win because those items are obtainable in game, while gem shop items have no stat value and are purely cosmetic. Calling Gw2 pay to win is a improper term due to how Pay to win's Definition is truly perceived.
You could buy gems and convert them into in-game currency since this game was released. That is more pay to win than anything you can buy in game. Okay....people can buy some crop field crap to make better food. What is easier? That or simply buying gold and paying someone else to make the food?
I am not defending any of it, just pointing out this is not new in GW2.
Well Turning Gems to Gold in Guild wars 2 is not Pay to Win what so ever, because Ascended gear and even legendary weapons are not that greater than the exotic ones. Those who try to say its pay to win don't have any clue as to what pay to win, as turning gems to gold does not give you any form of advantage in combat in this game and there is no competitive crafting market either truth be told in this game or any sort of highscore for it. You can obtain gems with gold and you can obtain gold with gems, so its not pay to win. Pay to win is something that gives you an advantage over the other player, like a physical advantage which in this game does not exist. The combat in this game is designed around skill and knowing how to play your build and the profession in which you are playing. So its time to stop the lies about it being pay to win when guild wars 2 doesn't even come close to that. Alls guild wars 2 really is, is PFL, Pay for Luxury or in other words PTC, Pay to Catchup. Most people who tend to do gems to gold are doing it to get weapon skins, armor skins, Infusion Auras, Maybe nodes for there housing and such. But none of it is classified as pay to win because those items are obtainable in game, while gem shop items have no stat value and are purely cosmetic. Calling Gw2 pay to win is a improper term due to how Pay to win's Definition is truly perceived.
Just take a look at ESO: Every Mount in that game that was added after release is a crown store item! Houses for $100, lootboxes everywhere, ... i think ESO is even worse!
Way off topic & wrong place but i want to give ESO another shot, I own the base game from launch, how many xpacs have they released since, Is the game sub or B2P Now? Whats a DLC package go for to catch me up. To lazy to goggle all this info
This is my problem with ESO as well. Its DLC is practically shovelware at this point. There is so much of it, it adds up to be very expensive, and very little of the DLC is worthy of the price.
(And to answer your question, it's B2P now.)
Just sub and all the DLC is free. The sub is worth it just for the infinite crafting bag; crafting material you gather goes in there and doesn't clog up your inventory. The base game plus DLC will give you over 400 hr. of play time. If you want to buy the Morrowind expansion it's often on sale for $20.
As far as mounts go, you can buy a couple with in game gold and they have the same stats as anything from the item shop. When you sub you get crowns each month to spend in the item shop, so the item shop is really just a way to encourage people to sub, IMO, All the item shop stuff is either vanity or convenience.
Ffs it's all cosmetic crap. It does not help you it does not make you stronger. I don't get why people don't care about the games that still actual items in the shop vs cosmetic. Besides you can convert gems to gold and gold to gems.I know I'll get cleaned but honestly I'm just tired of seeing people throw a fuss over the stupid crap. It's not like they are looking EVERYTHING we do behind the gem store. I know some games that lock the hell out of content unless you soon or buy the unlocks.
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I am a somewhat new player to GW2 and love it, but the only problem I have is with the Living World seasons. It just feels bad I have to put down a lot of gems to buy the Living World seasons 2 and 3, just because I wasn't around to get them for free like everyone else.
This results in a huge story gap when moving to the HoT story after you finished Tyria story line.
Also the better gold farm locations are mostly in Living World season area's.
I do not understand what you're complaining about. Micro transactions does not ruin this game, the only thing you need to buy with money are the expansions, and you do not need to buy them. Everything in the gem store can be bought with in game gold, which can be earned. I'll throw $10 here and there because I want this game to continue.
$10 here and there is not what they want. They want your dollars any way they can, the games design has shifted to play being more and more dependant on the cash shop.
"At the launch of the game, Guild Wars 2 promised to be a game that used its cash shop only to provide small, cosmetic enhancements and extremely minor convenience items- all of which you could obtain by farming and converting you gold to gems."
MMO cash shops always start this way, in fact I will give GW some praise it has taken them this long to get to a cash shop that is this bad.
This is not just about GW, it is about any online game which has a cash shop and the dodgy practices that make gameplay dependent on spending cash.
Lolz It was like that all the time. That gold gem exchange rate:about 40 silvers for 100gems on release.How much is it now? Getting precursor to drop takes ages,easier to get gold. HoT legedaries system even worse. They removed Queensdale train. HoT is pure PvP update,so bored ppl can mess around with new skills, but it also destroyed balance intirely. You can just buy HoT HP for proof of heroics. PvP has unique back item (wings) that you cant get in PvE,but you can get legendary playing PvP. They made game f2p to make low lvl zones (Illusionary) populated and so experienced PvPers have some fresh meat to beat.Alot of ppl started to blame f2p players for no reason. Good looking armor/weapon only in gem store. They still haven't fixed broken events. This one is funny :you can buy waypoint unlock in gem store. And i dont wanna say anything about mounts.
Lots of interesting posts - the article has really stirred things up. I'm happy with GW2; I don't like games that insist on me paying a subscription every month, but I have no objection to buying some gems occasionally to support the game and its creators. I do have some costumes and glider wings, often bought when they're at a sale price, but I have no interest in the mount skins - over £20 for a devilish skimmer skin? Lucky that buying such stuff is entirely voluntary!
The base game is entirely free to play, with lots of stuff to do, including boss events, PvP, and WvW - and gems you earn (today it's around 28 gold for 100 gems) can get you to "the living world" seasons. A "teleport to friend" (from a birthday gift or a black lion chest) ought to get you into one of the extra maps... and black lion keys do drop in-game occasionally, or can come from completing a map quite often, some people spend a lot of time farming them like that.
I'm baffled by people who complain there's nothing to do in GW2. Oh, and +1 to the complaint about jumping puzzles!
I have read most of these and everyone has a good point. We all have to remember that the game studios are a business and they have to make $$$. Years ago if you wanted to play a MMO you paid a sub, but today no one wants to pay subs anymore in fact they don't even want to pay for the game they want 100% F2P,,,,,,, well who want too work for no $$$ no one and who want to have a business that does not make $$$,,, no one,,,,, this is the problem!!
This is why some idiots sitting around a table comes up with the idea that,,, "Hey lets come up with a garden that peeps can grow shit in that only they can use!!!! and make stuff that can only come from that garden,,,, AND we'll charge 1000 gems for it,,,, great right?"
That just shows how desperate they are for cash flow which was once taken care of by subs in other games in the past. So what's the answer?
I'm a oldtimer and I dont mind a sub if the game is worth it,,,,, but there are peeps that can't pay for a sub,,,, hell there lucky that they even have the internet!! We all want to play so I guess what I'm saying is we should stop bitching about it and see if there is away to work together to come up with a solution to this. But in the mean time you should be happy that there are peeps out there willing to buy a mount on a RNG roll, or a garden for $10 so you and me can hopefully see some new content in the near future..
I don't mind the Cash Shop, but the thing about Guild Wars 2 is it is not showing signs of improvement unlike Black Desert Online which has done what Guild Wars 2 hasn't in years starting with listing World Boss on thhe map somethhing GW2 doesn't do...
On top of this the major issue with the game is lack of housing, or ability to build your own instance, or freely edit / customize your character any time you want for free like in Black Desert, except for cosmetic unlocks, this is why I have pretty much dropped Guild Wars 2, and by the time they actually make changes it will be too late because there will simply be better games out there such as Black Desert, or Ashes OF Creation.
Over-All Guild Wars 2 Cash Shop doens't bother me a lot, but the whole gambling thing, lack of actual development to make it a great game does bother me in other words Black Desert as a game is better than Guild Wars 2 for sure in many aspects and GW2 should learn from their Cash Shop.
I've been playing this game daily since the first day of pre-release and the only things I spent money on were more inventory/bank space and the expansions.
The cash shop only tilts you if you are heavily into outfits.
Just take a look at ESO: Every Mount in that game that was added after release is a crown store item! Houses for $100, lootboxes everywhere, ... i think ESO is even worse!
Way off topic & wrong place but i want to give ESO another shot, I own the base game from launch, how many xpacs have they released since, Is the game sub or B2P Now? Whats a DLC package go for to catch me up. To lazy to goggle all this info
This is my problem with ESO as well. Its DLC is practically shovelware at this point. There is so much of it, it adds up to be very expensive, and very little of the DLC is worthy of the price.
(And to answer your question, it's B2P now.)
Just sub and all the DLC is free. The sub is worth it just for the infinite crafting bag; crafting material you gather goes in there and doesn't clog up your inventory. The base game plus DLC will give you over 400 hr. of play time. If you want to buy the Morrowind expansion it's often on sale for $20.
As far as mounts go, you can buy a couple with in game gold and they have the same stats as anything from the item shop. When you sub you get crowns each month to spend in the item shop, so the item shop is really just a way to encourage people to sub, IMO, All the item shop stuff is either vanity or convenience.
Offering a subscription that gives you a clear advantage over other players is still P2W. ANYTHING that gives you a meaningful advantage in return for money is P2W. ESO may have a better form of P2W than other games, but it's still P2W. "P2W" isn't an explicit or absolute term; P2W is more about paying to have an advantage, whether that advantage is relatively small or absolutely massive.
Comments
But I'm not surprised. They aren't making enought money so they try to squeeze as much money as they can from the playerbase for NCSoft.
Well Turning Gems to Gold in Guild wars 2 is not Pay to Win what so ever, because Ascended gear and even legendary weapons are not that greater than the exotic ones. Those who try to say its pay to win don't have any clue as to what pay to win, as turning gems to gold does not give you any form of advantage in combat in this game and there is no competitive crafting market either truth be told in this game or any sort of highscore for it. You can obtain gems with gold and you can obtain gold with gems, so its not pay to win. Pay to win is something that gives you an advantage over the other player, like a physical advantage which in this game does not exist. The combat in this game is designed around skill and knowing how to play your build and the profession in which you are playing. So its time to stop the lies about it being pay to win when guild wars 2 doesn't even come close to that. Alls guild wars 2 really is, is PFL, Pay for Luxury or in other words PTC, Pay to Catchup. Most people who tend to do gems to gold are doing it to get weapon skins, armor skins, Infusion Auras, Maybe nodes for there housing and such. But none of it is classified as pay to win because those items are obtainable in game, while gem shop items have no stat value and are purely cosmetic. Calling Gw2 pay to win is a improper term due to how Pay to win's Definition is truly perceived.
Did you really just cite an urban dictionary as if it validates your opinion on what p2w is?
My definition of p2w is anything that allows you to use real money to gain ANY instant advantage in game. I don't need to cite crap for my opinion....
Just sub and all the DLC is free. The sub is worth it just for the infinite crafting bag; crafting material you gather goes in there and doesn't clog up your inventory. The base game plus DLC will give you over 400 hr. of play time. If you want to buy the Morrowind expansion it's often on sale for $20.
As far as mounts go, you can buy a couple with in game gold and they have the same stats as anything from the item shop. When you sub you get crowns each month to spend in the item shop, so the item shop is really just a way to encourage people to sub, IMO, All the item shop stuff is either vanity or convenience.
free 7 day sub and unlocks for swtor new accounts and 90+ day inactive subs click here to get it!
Click here for trove referral, bonuses to both!
This results in a huge story gap when moving to the HoT story after you finished Tyria story line.
Also the better gold farm locations are mostly in Living World season area's.
MMO cash shops always start this way, in fact I will give GW some praise it has taken them this long to get to a cash shop that is this bad.
This is not just about GW, it is about any online game which has a cash shop and the dodgy practices that make gameplay dependent on spending cash.
It was like that all the time.
That gold gem exchange rate:about 40 silvers for 100gems on release.How much is it now?
Getting precursor to drop takes ages,easier to get gold.
HoT legedaries system even worse.
They removed Queensdale train.
HoT is pure PvP update,so bored ppl can mess around with new skills, but it also destroyed balance intirely.
You can just buy HoT HP for proof of heroics.
PvP has unique back item (wings) that you cant get in PvE,but you can get legendary playing PvP.
They made game f2p to make low lvl zones (Illusionary) populated and so experienced PvPers have some fresh meat to beat.Alot of ppl started to blame f2p players for no reason.
Good looking armor/weapon only in gem store.
They still haven't fixed broken events.
This one is funny :you can buy waypoint unlock in gem store.
And i dont wanna say anything about mounts.
https://frinkiac.com/meme/S10E09/758840.jpg?b64lines=IFRIRVknUkUgTUlMS0lORyBSQVRTIQogTUlMS0lORyBSQVRTIQ==
The base game is entirely free to play, with lots of stuff to do, including boss events, PvP, and WvW - and gems you earn (today it's around 28 gold for 100 gems) can get you to "the living world" seasons. A "teleport to friend" (from a birthday gift or a black lion chest) ought to get you into one of the extra maps... and black lion keys do drop in-game occasionally, or can come from completing a map quite often, some people spend a lot of time farming them like that.
I'm baffled by people who complain there's nothing to do in GW2. Oh, and +1 to the complaint about jumping puzzles!
This is why some idiots sitting around a table comes up with the idea that,,, "Hey lets come up with a garden that peeps can grow shit in that only they can use!!!! and make stuff that can only come from that garden,,,, AND we'll charge 1000 gems for it,,,, great right?"
That just shows how desperate they are for cash flow which was once taken care of by subs in other games in the past. So what's the answer?
I'm a oldtimer and I dont mind a sub if the game is worth it,,,,, but there are peeps that can't pay for a sub,,,, hell there lucky that they even have the internet!! We all want to play so I guess what I'm saying is we should stop bitching about it and see if there is away to work together to come up with a solution to this. But in the mean time you should be happy that there are peeps out there willing to buy a mount on a RNG roll, or a garden for $10 so you and me can hopefully see some new content in the near future..
OK now the old mans going back to sleep!!!!
Sleep well!
On top of this the major issue with the game is lack of housing, or ability to build your own instance, or freely edit / customize your character any time you want for free like in Black Desert, except for cosmetic unlocks, this is why I have pretty much dropped Guild Wars 2, and by the time they actually make changes it will be too late because there will simply be better games out there such as Black Desert, or Ashes OF Creation.
Over-All Guild Wars 2 Cash Shop doens't bother me a lot, but the whole gambling thing, lack of actual development to make it a great game does bother me in other words Black Desert as a game is better than Guild Wars 2 for sure in many aspects and GW2 should learn from their Cash Shop.
I've been playing this game daily since the first day of pre-release and the only things I spent money on were more inventory/bank space and the expansions.
The cash shop only tilts you if you are heavily into outfits.