Update - Thursday, April 23

I had a feeling A-net would come through and I believe they did. The updates sound awesome and add a lot of replayability which the game desperately needed. Kudos and thanks again for proving that you do listen and don't try to skimp to please everyone. I think all the updates were well thought out and help to serve a purpose.

btw, i don't really have that many of each material - i am poor xD
I think its awesome

I can't wait to get my other accounts set up!

Most of the update is fine in my opinion, except for one thing that I can't stand.

The Zaishen Challenge Quests are the only way that you can obtain larger equipment storage. Equipment storage was a huge deal and one of the main three topics that ArenaNet mentioned in the pre-release announcement.

However, there is some disturbing irony that in order to get a larger inventory, you must waste inventory slots to hoard tokens to earn your way to them. Right now, I'm going to assume that the coins are severely bugged. And I do mean severe, because now every single character that does a ZCQ is now stuck with their own tokens--you can't put them in the vault and you can't use trade to put them on a mule character. In effect, it's actually telling players that they should just buy a 5-slot equipment bag and throw away the coins as the latter are essentially worsening the problem with player storage more than they are helping.

Nicolas is the best part of the update.

Everything else.......

I wasnt expecting much and i was obviously wrong. Looks like i may have to give GW another chance this weekend.

Ignoring the stuff for sale on the store (that is not part of the _free big april update_) this is what we got:

1 xunlai slot for free - Thanks for that. Sucks that the rest are $10 a piece.

Menagerie - I guess rangers/beast masters will like it but non rangers/beast masters don't really get any benefit form this one.

Equipment slot grind - Can't be bothered to grind anymore. I'm done grinding.

New minis - Hardly required any development resources.

What else is in this update? I fail to see anything worth the wait. This is the smallest "big update" I've seen. Don't bother posting about the store updates. That doesn't count as 'content'.

So, what are we missing here?

Nicholas the traveler - best part of the update

Hall of Monuments is now account wide.

Where's the free stuff that you don't have to do anything for, or even log in, or even get out of bed for? Why isn't everything the way I want it? Why am I so alone in this woooooorld...

No, I agree, it was a pretty lame "BIG" update. Especially seen as it was so long since we had one.

As far as NEW content goes, this was a week display of what the team can offer people while we wait for GW2.

I mean seriously, that menagerie... What person with half a mind uses beast mastery if they aren't a NUB thumper?

He's fun at first but I'm finding he's pretty much just giving me more junk to store (since I haven't decided yet which char is going for sweet tooth, drunkard etc) which is not good since it's gonna take me months to be able to grind for that equipment pack. And did we really need 2 more minis? The game is already infested with the silly things.

I agree with OP. Also, it's a real hassle to get the 1 xunlai free slot through the NCSoft site.

It's going to be tough for a few days, but it's available until the end of the month (I think).
Edit: end of NEXT month. Plenty of time.

Uhhh... *raises hand* I do. I quite like beastmaster builds. You know why? Because I enjoy them. Who'd'a thunk it?

They just added new farming content mainly.

I really like the Zaishen Menagerie, everything else is copying ideas from World of Warcraft:

Daily Heroic / Daily Quests
Zaishen Coins are the equivalent of Heroic Badges/Tokens


They have not added additional content, they just added some hidden grind, a way to stretch and recycle content.

It somehow feels poorly copied, in WoW I did not get that feeling that I have to grind for something. And actually GW was supposed to be the grind free game, but many of our titles (WoW calls them achievements) are just nothing else and extreme grind.

Zoins not being able to put in storage is a known bug and being looked at

Maybe that is why ANET put him in there to slowly push you into getting more storage to store the new stuff from him.

Seriously, I had not thought of that, however he is offering some cool stuff. Mysterious tonic being one of them:
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Mysterious_Tonic

True, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that a lot of people are gonna visit the site with an update like this. Bad planning or whatever it is.

New rewards for old quests, TONS of new items, a stylist that's been desired forever, extra storage, free and buyable, a new collector that gives out high-end and otherwise unique items, a whole new area of the game, entirely new character models...

Yep. Empty. No content. No effort. Fail fail phail.

/sarcasm

"Equipment slot grind - Can't be bothered to grind anymore. I'm done grinding. "


You're missing the point of these quests. This isn't so much for grind. It's to get people doing in game stuff that not everyone has a chance to do. It brings life back into older areas. Your mindset is wrong on this one. It's not what's in it for me, but what's in it for the community.

It's an option. if you dont' want it don't get it. also, didn't have to add new content to this game. It has no obligation to.

And also to OP, it's not fair to say don't post about the store update, when in your comments you talk about it. It almost made me not want to read your entire rant (which is a dime a dozen on riverside anymore it seems).

- Whenever I log on, I start figuring out what to do. Yeah, I could continue grinding those EotN titles to get better PvE skills... for what? I could grind gladiator points one at the time... why, when there's better PvP games available? Looking all that stuff I've hoarded makes me feel stressed. I was going to mod this sword some day and sell these golds, farm those ectos halfway to FoW armor. Then I realize, hey I could have some fun in PvP. Off to find guilds full of idlers, jerks and other people you really don't want to hang around with. I could continue playing the single player game, but there's little point in that. Titles don't impress me one bit and AI offers no challenge.

So why bother complaining about a game you seem to not like anyway?

I love it when people have no idea what they're talking about.

- Are these things to do? I've done the missions in normal mode, hard mode, with several characters and then some for title grind. Now they're promising some extra gold for doing it once more.

- Nicholas The Traveler? This was the best part of update. Bit of lore and variety of prizes.

- New area applies only to Rangers with pets. It was surprisingly well made though, considering how marginal use it will have for gameplay. Character models make no difference.

Ya damn right. Been trying on and off for 4 hours now. Bugger it i've got a month to get it so il leave it a week or two.

Simple really all of the update content were things people asked for again and again in thread after thread till we were all mightily sick of them asking.

Now they should be happy More storage, character customisation and name changes, what really is the downside.

Ok it costs money but that's a small consideration given the amount spent on extra characters and GW accounts already.

I didnt get extra storage slot for free. How did you get it?

The best part of the update are the baby white crabs in the menagerie!

Guildie said Max storage is now 2 mill. Anyone else confirm?

http://www.guildwars.com/products/ex...orage_pane.php

I like the increased storage. That was very much needed for those of us that have been playing for close to 4 yrs.

I like the menagerie. I don't know if I'll do much with it, but I do think it's cool. My rainbow phoenix now has a bigger place to frolic.

I like the zaishen quests. It will be easy to find pugs for the missions-of-the-day, and the rewards are more than just the coins.

I like the new options for make-overs. I like that you can preview without buying the packs. Hilarious.

I DO NOT like the cost for extra storage and makeovers and name changes. They made it pretty steep, and they are counting on those of us that are addicts that can't help but pull out our credit cards. They could have made the prices more reasonable. What they did will only make me more willing to choose another next-gen mmo available at the time gw2 is finally released.

the free xunlai tabs is not free, you just traded your Personal Information for it lol :P

I agree that the update is mostly empty.

The biggest part of the update was to the store and most of the "Free" stuff the update included is obviously provided more to encourage people to go and pay real money for the new stuff in the store. IE; Here is the new pet menagerie, for only 9.99 you can unlock X content.

The Zaishen quests don't actually add any gameplay content to the game they just offer some new rewards. The rewards themselves are mostly kind of lame, it seems a little ridiculous that you have to do that much grinding to get a max storage bag that can only hold certain items. I think the reasoning behind them is less about the rewards and more about trying to encourage players to go and replay areas and quests that are not done very often. I would have preferred they did something to make the areas more fun. Teamplay died when Ursan Blessing was released and if this brought it back I would be pretty happy, but it really isn't anything new.

Nicholas The Traveler is definetly the biggest free thing. His weapons and Mini-pets will be worth a nice penny in game for a couple weeks. He also signifies the new mentality of Guild Wars as a daily grind, Log in, go kill weak enemies for 20 minutes to an hour and get a reward that will usually amount to nothing; but has a very slight potential to be worthwhile if you are very lucky. The rewards have nothing to do with skill or gameplay, just luck. I am sure a new market will emerge for farmers, I can imagine the items Nick is looking for going for 2k a piece for awhile ..............

The "FREE" storage pane is not really free. It is just a way for A-net to get players to make accounts with thier stores. It is not really a gift, it is similar to many offers you see on every store site across the internet, IE Amazon.com giving you a certificate for "Free shipping" up to 50$ on your first order if you sign up for an Amazon account or you car insurance company giving you a 20$ gift certificate for taking a survey. It is a way for them to get you to go to the store and set up an account. If it were a gift it would not have to be claimed...... it would simply be given.

The 4th year mini-pets will change the economy a little, people like me who are getting a bunch of them will make some decent money, others who started a little later will make considerably less but it will be something, this is the same as other years and not particularly exciting.

The Birthday celebration will cause a ton of lag make it impossible to find parties for non b-day related activities and create a market for cupcake dealers which is the same as other years.

I think it is both insulting and irreverent that A-net charges players 15$ to change thier character name and 10 bucks to change thier appearance. Thats less of a gift and more of a slap in the face.... especially since there have been several changes to the models and textures used for some of the characters. My Rangers hair didn't have a seam in the back of his head when I made him, but he does now.........

A-nets official Guild Wars site says:
"This update reflects our warm and heartfelt thanks for your dedication over the past four years. We couldn't have done it without you. Enjoy the celebration!"

What is it they mean exactly ? Are they talking about the fact that they have included new ways to spend actual cash on game items.......... or............. what ?

I am kinda bummed that we still have no place to store the 4 million books we have to carry everywhere. All in all I think this is the crappiest Birthday update ever. It is just a rehash of old stuff and an offering of crappy rewards to do the things that no one wanted to do in the first place because they were poorly designed.

I played GW every single day from the day Prophecies was released till Ursan Blessing took hold a week or so after the release of EoTN. I haven't played much since then, I had thought this update was going to be some UBER reason to start playing regularly again.... but beyond selling my 4th year mini's and saying hello to the others that quit when Ursan took over who are coming on to check thier B-day presents....... There is really nothing here of interest.

They have the funds...its called Guild Wars 1. These microtransactions are simply a money grab. There was recently a rather large thread proclaiming "Guild Wars is alive!" and pointing to the numbers of unit sales and the numbers were still pretty damn high (even I was surprised). They just recently passed 6 million copies sold. They have the revenue for Guild Wars 2. The were thinking about Guild Wars 2 long before these microtransactions popped up so they had the revenue then as well.

Which makes it even worse. I don't want it now, I certainly don't want it in Guild Wars 2 when it is likely to be worse instead of better. You have to ask yourself...if these things are being sold in Guild Wars 1 what else could possibly be sold in Guild Wars 2? Obviously much more will be sold, since there seems to be some support for it in 1 and because they have seemingly abandoned their old model which will likely also occur in 2.

Not neccessarily MMOs, but a lot of games that require nearly as many resources and have many more players. Not to mention most decent competitive games (thats another story altogether). You know as well as I that there are very few MMOs in the class of Guild Wars. The entire point of Guild Wars was that is was different than all the other games out there.

??? Content has always been sold in the form of Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and EoTN. That was the model they were going with. When they gave us things like Sorrows Furnace and MOX for free I was the first to commend them because I thought they would be buyable....and now that I look back I would be much happier with those being sold and these being given to us for free. These are much more trivial things that are being sold now.

Doubtful considering the support for what is not included in 1 (except for a price). The only thing they have announced that will be free in GW2 is UAX, but I'm actually starting to doubt that now. I would strongly bet that it will only be like half UAX or no weapon unlocks (because that will be purchasable). Nevertheless, even you can admit that UAX should have always been free, and it is perfectly ok to say they screwed the pooch on that.

Except that they were giving us free content long before microtransactions, and this isn't content. The only good economic argument I've seen for this is "the economic downturn forced it" which is basically the argument for every economy in the world going in debt at the moment. So be it I can't argue against that!

I have stated before why the optional argument is bad in detail in other threads, but I will sum it up here. People are saying "it is optional" and wandering off as if they win everything is ok in the world. The problem is these same people could use that argument for ANYTHING ANET DOES OR ANYTHING IN THE GAME. Ursan? Optional. Inbalanced skills? Optional. Anet selling stuff we have wanted for years? Optional. Anet selling competitive advantages? Optional. I hope you see where I am going with this. Again...you have to ask yourself where it ends if you support this now.

Lastly, just from a personal standpoint. JR I really can't believe you support this. Maybe I'm the crazy one here. You say they use these microtransactions to fund content. Fine (even though I disagree with it)...but what about the shit job they've done with PvP over the years? Honestly I'm surprised you even still support this company after all you have seen. You can post again and tell me how wrong I am and that I am delusional (which is fine because maybe I am?!), but coming from someone who I know wanted GW to be a competitive game, I really can't believe you support this.

And finally...

Get back to us when you post something useful. Welcome to forums.

Good update, very pleased!

I dunno if its just because im not used to it but the storage tabs look funny like that...i recon the top ones should like hide behind the bottom...and you rushed them too much they didn't use the shift key and captials on pet names.

nvm also quite a few unmentionable changes...minis looks awesome

ps hi linsey veiwin these lovely comments

Kind of luke warm about most of the update

Not going to buy anything from online store anyway - so all of that is kind of blah to me.

Zaishen quests and equipment bags - way too expensive for me, pretty much decided I'll just go with a light bag and leave any other armor on my mules. not interested in replaying over and over things I've already done multiple times for such small reward/play time results.

New trader - not bad, but I'm not really wanting to turn into a bunny or get another mini pet. I do like the kegs of ale, the disco balls. The mercantile summoning stones are nice too - don't have to return to town to sell gold items from the vaettrs, just call my own personal merchant.

So, pretty much looks like I'll just stop by Nick once a week and skip the rest.

DENY:


S/he lied to you.

I'm still struggling to get my free slot of storage.... site overload

There have been Micro -Transactions in GW since the begining: Unlock Packs, Character Slots, ect. Just casue you ignored them do not make them any less real.

I hope they do not Fix the coin storage bug, so that the PvP mission cannot be abused the system by deleating and rerolling.

The grind has always been there...ALWAYS. You just didn't see it at first. Repiticiously Attacking, Spelling, Hexing and Healing. The hallmark of this genre of game is Grind. Accept it and get over it.


Sorry if this is a bit short the other post I did took over an hour on the first post at work and I guess Guru timed out casue it disappeared, so GRRR!