crashburntoo.7431

I still browse and enjoy giving what I can. If the request is well beyond my means (and many others), the person requesting simply risks never seeing that request fulfilled. I've been thanked in some instances and not in others. That's not why I give, so I'm okay. Let's keep this thread going, certainly at this time of year, though generosity should have no season.

At the risk of appearing uncultured, which is entirely accurate,... SPOILER ALERT! On topic and in actual response, I become more attached to characters than the story line in most games, books, comics, etc. The popular show that was eluded to is one that I've left behind as well. I have no hate for Taimi. In fact, I tend to back fill her narrative to create more empathy in my own mind. Brahm on the other hand, is harder for me to like... his animosity and rudeness grates on me at times. I'm glad that it's faded, and I hope he can forge a better relationship with the Commander again. PS: I've been travelling all week, so I haven't played any of the latest episode... just in case anything that I've written here doesn't make sense relative to the latest content. :)

@"Gaile Gray.6029" Thanks for the merge... would it be possible to get this thread "stickied" in the Player's Helping Player's sub-forum? I've bookmarked it, but for many others, it may not be as easily found. Thanks!

Long live the Wiki and thank you to the contributors and organizers of this program!

You can get 1/week with a lvl 10 story on a new character... that's the nerf that you're remembering. Keys are available at later story steps if you want to invest the time in a single character to "farm" it out. You have an RNG chance of getting them as map rewards or from the BL box that features weekly as part of the login rewards. The only "efficient" way of getting them is by purchasing them, which is logically what Anet wants. If we could get 5-10 per week or even per month with little effort, very few people would bother to spend gems (cash) on them. You could dedicate your time and effort to amassing gold to convert to gems to get keys, but that's like working a full time job to fuel casino trips in the evening... if that's your thing. Edit: Wiki site for reference - shows all of the acquisition methods (BLCK)... Also, watch for a sale as part of this March sales blitz. I'd be very surprised if it didn't show up.

Now I know more about the AFC and why there's been a strange tingling sensation in my head. Apologies for the less than coherent thoughts... I hope you've got a filter on your end. Thanks for the update; I look forward to the launch on March 15th.

As an American who spent part of her childhood/teen years living in England, who wrote for a UK publisher for years, and who has an internal American English --> UK English translator in her head ;) I agree. Despite Winston Churchill's definition of us as "two countries divided by a common language," there are very few basic differences, and those are easily reconciled. I do wish I hadn't be asked to stop using proper spelling (back in the early days of Anet). To me, "armour" and "colour" just look right and proper. :) You have my full, Canadian support in the use of "armour" and "colour"... eh...

I've thought it over, and I'd like to get into Fractals. I've got some work to do on trinkets and an ascended off-hand, but it's the infusions for Agony Resistance that are going to be tougher for me. I'm asking for twelve (12) +9 Agony Resistance Infusions & eight (8) +7 Agony Resistance Infusions. I'll provide updates below in the most common format: 5 / 12 Agony Resistance Infusions (+9 AR)8 / 8 Agony Resistance Infusions (+7 AR) COMPLETED Thanks for your help in this; I really appreciate it! :smiley: UPDATE: Big thanks to you, Wintersday gifter! I didn't check to see if you wanted to be identified, so I'll leave you anon... I'm very grateful!

There's a ton of wisdom in this statement. Big picture direction led regularly by community input. I think a creative, talented team like the one behind GW2 could work with that input to create content (purchased or otherwise) that would be received incredibly well on a regular basis.

Can I have... nevermind... This is the epitome of the short-term gain and long-term loss that I'm concerned with. This model alienates some, and others will take the chance. If you get what you want, maybe you carry on and spend some more, maybe you don't because you're broke. Those that take the chance and don't get what they want are bound to feel cheated (debatable, I realize, but the feeling is still there). I don't want anyone to feel like Stormcrow does.

While I'm equally anxious to see a response, Gaile did just send in a report on the matter/feedback late yesterday. This community is on 24/7, essentially, but Anet is generally 9-5 PST. I hope they've rallied for some morning discussions with a plan to issue a response this afternoon or early tomorrow (their time). Even that is an aggressive schedule for response. I'm basing this on my place of employment, which can take days or weeks to respond to small matters.

The Massively article was well written; I think it was a balanced description of the situation. Everyone is reacting differently, and my previous posts put me in the Anti-RNG camp. Honestly, I just don't like that business model, but I understand that it's not entirely new to GW2 or gaming in general. I think a great compromise to this entire situation is to release the mount skins individually but at higher prices. They can release them gradually, in sets, as part of events, however they wish. It would be wise to inform the player base that this is your intent moving ahead too (don't necessarily have to give a release model or schedule - just let us know that they'll eventually show up in the shop as something we can buy direct). The higher prices can be tiered as well. Anet knows which skins could be classified as "standard", "deluxe" and "legendary". I would suggest that the RNG boxes remain, since they've been released already and purchased by some. Simply add releases of these skins and more at 600 gems, 800 gems and 1000 gems. I can't get behind the 2000 gem pricing for a single skin, even if some people note that $25 is an industry standard for mounts... maybe for a mount, but not for a skin. This game has a price range on skins, tools, toys and everything else. 2000 gems has historically been bundle level pricing, so I think they should avoid tying price tags of that nature to single items. I hope that the community will get a response on this soon.

I'm amazed that no one has replied to this one. As someone who does collect trading cards, I got tired of relying on RNG to get a certain card, so guess what I did. I bought a single online. For like the same price as a booster pack, I bought the exact card I wanted. :+1: Besides, the comparison is ridiculous. No one plays a role-playing game for the reasons you play trading card games. And as you stated, the name trading card game already implies that the main aspect (besides actually playing the game) lies is trading with one another so that everyone can complete their deck. People who buy pack after pack without the social aspect of trading with other players must either have too much money or be somewhat out of their mind.About 12 years ago, I was buying 2 boxes and $400+ in singles for every MtG set that came out. That went on for about 2 years. As I mentioned in a few previous posts, I fully recognize my compulsive behaviour and collectors mentality. I was most certainly one of the "out of their mind" people and had no business spending that much money on cards. The worst part is that I rarely played. I just needed to have them. It's marketing like this that really does prey on these types of weaknesses. I find myself continually saying that I don't need these skins because I know that I want them. The worst part is, I know I wouldn't use most of them (can only have one skin on one mount at a time... plus I'm short the Jackal and Griffon still. I'm a bloody casual!).

I'm amazed that no one has replied to this one. As someone who does collect trading cards, I got tired of relying on RNG to get a certain card, so guess what I did. I bought a single online. For like the same price as a booster pack, I bought the exact card I wanted. Yeah, I had to reply to this one, too. >.> Because if booster packs = loot boxes....yeah. Buying random packs DOES get old and if there's one shiny card I really want, Im not gonna spend $150 on packs hoping to get it. I'm gonna spend $10 on the card itself. Take that as you will, if someone wants to make that comparison. My husband and I love to play Magic the Gathering. And we never buy booster packs. We buy the cards we want on the flea market or online at ebay or whatever. I only play white decks, and I only buy white cards. Sorry, don't mean to derail, but I miss Circle of Protection. Revised Edition for the win! On topic, I should have responded to the CCG comparison earlier as well. Packs have always been available and "random", but the singles market balances that. In GW2, that singles market is the TP (although it could be in the gemstore as well). Anet could actually choose which singles market they want! Post them for gems, perhaps released 2 at a time every week over the next 15 weeks, OR make them available to sell on the TP... players will set a price via gold. On one hand, it's controlled by Anet, so there likely wouldn't be any difference based on more or less desirable skins. On the other hand, it goes free market with supply and demand factors in play.

I think part of what isn't sitting well with me is the big picture. To release 30+ skins all at once is absolutely unprecedented but also very necessary for this marketing/sales model. These skins have been in the works for a long time... this was fully planned to release like this from the beginning. I mean months ago... possibly a year ago. On top of that, we were eased into the idea of skins with the Spooky mounts, which were marketed as a package only and shown as a "sale" at 1600 gems. Keep in mind that these were the first skins available, tied to a popular, seasonal event and opened up more dye channels (a point that wasn't lost on the community either). The single "premium" skin at 2000 gems attempts to convince the consumer that the 300-400 gems per skin random model is a good deal, as if a discount for randomness may have already been applied. From all of this, I draw the conclusion that they've been watching and measuring for a long time. I'm not sure why we all thought that Anet would rise above these types of business models. We know that many other businesses use them and have a lot of data behind them. We know that this preys on weaknesses in addiction, hoarding and mental illness. Artificial scarcity was discussed recently too. I've worked in sales for 10 years, and I find these trends very disturbing. It's a tough exercise for some, myself included. I look at these things that I might enjoy, and I need to repeat to myself that it isn't worth it. Anet has been very intentional in how they've chosen to market, and I need to be very intentional in how I choose to consume.