In-game advantage from the cash shop

shinta_himura

shinta_himura

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Feb 2006

D/

So it's finally happened. It was only a matter of time, right?

Purchasing a mercenary hero now gives players a gameplay advantage over other players who did not purchase it. You may have an additional hero of the same profession, or in fact, you can fill your entire team with the same profession (3 heroes, four characters of the same profession).

If you don't make this purchase, your gameplay is now limited until you do.

Squishy ftw

Squishy ftw

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2007

Your backline

W/

I see where you're coming from but personally I couldn't care less.

I'll never buy a mercenary hero myself and since other people don't affect my gameplay, I don't care what they do/run.

zwei2stein

zwei2stein

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Jun 2006

Europe

The German Order [GER]

N/

My gameplay options just skyrocketed... and I did not have to buy anything.

---

Anyway, gimmick one profession builds are not all that effective ...

What exactly would your exploity party consist of?

Also, rember that people with 2 accounts were already able to do it. And some insane people (cough) with three accounts were doing solo urgoz already...

dancing gnome

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2006

House of Wandering Souls

R/Rt

Make all henchmen heroes. Allow players to talk to them in an outpost and select up to 8 henchmen at a time to act as heroes. Problem solved. The cosmetic benefits of the update remain for the mercenary packs, the gameplay advanatage is removed.

Skyy High

Skyy High

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: May 2006

R/

How many times do I have to say this....people were already doing this by purchasing a second account and running with 6 heroes. And after thinking it over for a day, that still might be the better option if you want to run full discordway, unless you plan on wasting 4 of your character slots on necros.

Also, it's f***ing PvE, and GW2 is coming. Who cares anymore?

kyoshirou

kyoshirou

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Sep 2006

Cavalon

IGN Ishana Damari

N/A

should be grateful, free 7 heroes

still updating with new contents

unlike some MIC - Made in China games...

Game Shop > Skills

weapons, level n powerup items all for real money ~

cataphract

cataphract

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2005

Ashford Abbey

Hey Mallyx [icU]

Mo/Me

Good thing there's not much incentive to play pve after 4 gwamms.

dancing gnome

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2006

House of Wandering Souls

R/Rt

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyy High View Post
How many times do I have to say this....people were already doing this by purchasing a second account and running with 6 heroes. And after thinking it over for a day, that still might be the better option if you want to run full discordway, unless you plan on wasting 4 of your character slots on necros.

Also, it's f***ing PvE, and GW2 is coming. Who cares anymore?
If you don't care and you are reiterating a redundant point please stop posting. Two accounts and 6 heroes is not the same. We clearly care, so please, if you don't care, you aren't being in any way helpful.

Mouse at Large

Mouse at Large

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Dec 2005

Scotland

Fuzzy Physics Institute

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by dancing gnome View Post
If you don't care and you are reiterating a redundant point please stop posting. Two accounts and 6 heroes is not the same. We clearly care, so please, if you don't care, you aren't being in any way helpful.
Or to put it another way "If you don't agree with my position, don't post"

DeanBB

DeanBB

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2005

Arizona

Wizardry Players Guild, http://4guildwars.7.forumer.com

How is one person's playing with merc's giving them an advantage over someone who is not in an instanced, non-competitive environment? We're not talking PvP here. Is it just that they can clear a zone 1.3 minutes faster? Please explain.

dancing gnome

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2006

House of Wandering Souls

R/Rt

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouse at Large View Post
Or to put it another way "If you don't agree with my position, don't post"

Sky High was saying who cares it's only PvE. It has nothing to do with whether he/she agrees with me or not.

Dzjudz

Dzjudz

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

gwpvx.com/user:dzjudz

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyy High View Post
How many times do I have to say this....people were already doing this by purchasing a second account and running with 6 heroes. And after thinking it over for a day, that still might be the better option if you want to run full discordway, unless you plan on wasting 4 of your character slots on necros.
A couple of points:

6 heroes won't travel to level 2 of the dungeon or to the next explorable area. And you are still down 1 slot.

You don't need to waste 4 slots on necros. Just roll a pvp necro, add it as a merc, reroll as a necro with another name, add it as a merc, reroll as a necro with another name, add it as a merc, reroll as a necro with another name, add it as a merc.

Atro

Atro

Miss the good ol' days

Join Date: Sep 2009

Where don't I live?

A/

The way I see it, there is no advantage here for the people that do buy it.

Their game doesn't effect you in anyway whatsoever. What do they gain that you cant get already or that isn't already abused by speedclears?

The only thing I see is some might be able to complete missions/quests faster than others but again that doesn't affect you becauase you play on your own time.

Dzjudz

Dzjudz

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

gwpvx.com/user:dzjudz

They gain the ability to make builds that I cannot without paying.

That is it and that is all.

Skyy High

Skyy High

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: May 2006

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by dancing gnome View Post
Sky High was saying who cares it's only PvE. It has nothing to do with whether he/she agrees with me or not.
First off: two "y"s. Thanks.

Secondly: My point wasn't "lol PvE", it was "lol you're getting mad about this now, when people have been able to pay for a slight advantage for years." GW2 is coming, let people have their fun; I can pretty much guarantee that no one who couldn't beat something with 7 heroes will magically not suck when given access to 7 necro heroes.

Or, to be more blunt: discordway isn't good enough for people to get this pissy about mercenary slots, and nowhere near good enough for ANet to commit sepuku by removing the functionality after people already paid for the slots.

Or to be even more blunt: deal with it, it's not so bad and they're not changing it anyway.

Atro

Atro

Miss the good ol' days

Join Date: Sep 2009

Where don't I live?

A/

But that doesn't really give them an advantage

chessyang

chessyang

Not far from Elite

Join Date: Apr 2006

Florida

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Acolyte Firestar View Post
But that doesn't really give them an advantage
there thinking have 7 of 1 profession will be uber awesome and stream roll over any PvE area.... like most have said (the advantage is somewhat) makes PvE areas fast.

any like Squishy ftw said, I do careless about this paid item but i got 1 to support Anet/GW. One slot is lunch money for me.

Stuart444

Stuart444

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Aug 2007

Alexandria, Scotland

The Charter Vanguard [CV]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by shinta_himura View Post
If you don't make this purchase, your gameplay is now limited until you do.
Yes because having a bunch of people all the same profession which you can only do with merc heroes really 'limits' gameplay. I mean it's not like a fully balanced team with different professions would be better than one with all the same profession ¬_¬

Lupu

Lupu

Academy Page

Join Date: Feb 2011

N/Rt

Until someone comes up with an "outside the box" AWESOME new herobuild that will drop the ecto prices or something similar because it's so good and being overly used by everyone with merch heros, ...I don't think they will have an advantage.

I think the mercenaries are just for fun and looks mostly.

Kirzath

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2007

W/

Discordway is not the end-all of team builds. 3 necro heroes is already plenty for any hero team build.

You won't be able to do anything wonky like a full party of hero paragons if you don't buy merc heroes, but it wouldn't be any better than a balanced build, just more fun.

The mercenary heroes are for people who want to add another element of entertainment to their game, not for the hardcore PVE-Steamrollers. lern 2 play if you really think you need 7 necro heroes to complete high end PVE content competently.

Rites

Rites

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2010

Deep in the belly of Texas

R/

advantage means something that gives you a better outcome than others

considering gameplay is instanced in PvE, there really is no "advantage" because even with 8 paragons, other people's setups have no effect on your gameplay

some people are just never satisfied

but lets put it this way.... does that mean that i am at an advantage cuz i decided to buy all the skillpacks so my heroes could have all their skills?
no it doesn't give me an advantage, it just shows i'm lazy

now if you were able to use the mercs/heroes in PvP, then you would have room to gripe and complain

Spiritz

Forge Runner

Join Date: Apr 2007

DMFC

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dzjudz View Post
They gain the ability to make builds that I cannot without paying.

That is it and that is all.
100% true and hit the nail on the head. Dzjudz is the voice of reason.
Many of us play the game ( yes i said play ) for enjoyment and feeling rewarded when we work for something.Adding mercs means we are paying anet for less enjoyment - anyone who does SC can you tell me if doign sc for several hours, a sc is enjoyable and it even looks same as a warrior doing 3 hrs of raptors - its not enjoyable but a chore.When you have paid for the mercs , got everything done in gw within a few weeks .. what the hell are you going to do till gw2 comes out ... bitch about gw being too easy now ?
I can even do vaetires for more than an hr before i get bored and some raptor warriors do it for several hrs on end

What set gw apart from other mmo`s and especially WoW was the fact that you buy the game and the only extra costs are from extra slots and other things which DONT affect gameplay ( skill packs dont count ).Everyone has an even foot within the game or in each campaign so to speak.No players with fancy armor that Has to be purchased , no fancy mounts and no sepcial weapons etc and we play how the game was designed to be played.All of the fancy lil extras from the shop are either eye candy ( costumes ) or extra chr slots/storage - skill packs mainly save players having to haul ass and cap/buy skills or tomes.

Verene

Verene

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jan 2009

[SOTA]

D/

It's really not going to give much of an advantage at all.

Unless people think that a seven-necro team is really going to be more efficient than the thousands of other team builds that are possible now with seven heroes (and not using a merc pack to make extras of one profession).

Potestas

Potestas

Academy Page

Join Date: Dec 2010

Quote:
Originally Posted by Squishy ftw View Post
I see where you're coming from but personally I couldn't care less.

I'll never buy a mercenary hero myself and since other people don't affect my gameplay, I don't care what they do/run.

this is true so...

Skyy High

Skyy High

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: May 2006

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spiritz View Post
100% true and hit the nail on the head. Dzjudz is the voice of reason.
Many of us play the game ( yes i said play ) for enjoyment and feeling rewarded when we work for something.Adding mercs means we are paying anet for less enjoyment - anyone who does SC can you tell me if doign sc for several hours, a sc is enjoyable and it even looks same as a warrior doing 3 hrs of raptors - its not enjoyable but a chore.When you have paid for the mercs , got everything done in gw within a few weeks .. what the hell are you going to do till gw2 comes out ... bitch about gw being too easy now ?
I can even do vaetires for more than an hr before i get bored and some raptor warriors do it for several hrs on end
I have literally no clue wtf you're trying to say here or how it relates to the topic.

EPO Bot

EPO Bot

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2006

Mo/N

People care about the value of ecto a little much.

FengShuiDove

FengShuiDove

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2007

Trinity of the Ascended [ToA]

A/

My lineup:

N/Mo AotL Prot Bomber
Mo/Me RoJ Smiter
N/Rt IV Life Resto
P/* SF Buffer
Rt/N SoS Bloods
Me/* Panic Domination
N/Rt PoD Debuffs

I'm pretty convinced it shreds through most areas with unbelievable speed and cleanliness. Cleared Foundry last night in extremely short order, and did FoW in about an hour and a half with no cons or speed buffs.

And I have no delusions that this is the "best" overall team build. There are team builds out there with what we already have (7H that is) that [email protected] 7 of any single profession is in all likelihood subpar compared to any of the balanced hero builds.

There is no real in-game advantage from mercenary heroes.

zwei2stein

zwei2stein

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Jun 2006

Europe

The German Order [GER]

N/

What about not paying for mercs then?

Okay, you can have 7 paragons it team. That sounds ... boring. You soon run out of redundant skills. And start thinking about more interesting stuff ... What about curses necro? Ranger with barrage or Dervish or Warrior Assassin to take advantage of all those on attack skill shouts? Maybe Ritualist for More "turret" action and some splinter fun? Mesmer...

Not sure that having 7 copies of discord is fun either...

FengShuiDove

FengShuiDove

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2007

Trinity of the Ascended [ToA]

A/

Quote:
Originally Posted by zwei2stein View Post
Not sure that having 7 copies of discord is fun either...
Or effective. The only thing that gives "2 Man Discordway" an advantage over regular DWay isn't the extra copies of Discord, it's the ability to bring Smite support, Channeling support, and other such lines along with the spike damage from the first 3 Discords.

It's kind of the illusion of being more effective, since a Smiter's Boon RoJ Monk is a way better addition to 3 Discord heroes than an "N/Mo Smite Support Discord".

Dzjudz

Dzjudz

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

gwpvx.com/user:dzjudz

14 discord heroes in Unwaking Waters?

ruk1a

ruk1a

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2008

UR MOM LOL

ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES

A/

Quote:
Originally Posted by zwei2stein View Post
My gameplay options just skyrocketed... and I did not have to buy anything.

---

Anyway, gimmick one profession builds are not all that effective ...

What exactly would your exploity party consist of?

Also, rember that people with 2 accounts were already able to do it. And some insane people (cough) with three accounts were doing solo urgoz already...
this, and really... who cares.

Sir Cusfreak

Sir Cusfreak

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2007

In your backline

No Tags [NONE]

There are games where other people's gameplay really doesn't matter. Why, there's Minesweeper, Dragon Age, old console games, solitare, and many more. With those, the way you play really has nothing to do with the way I play. Guild Wars, however, is not a solo game. The other people in this game actually do affect others. And giving in-store advantage by selling the ability to have a more versatile party structure
(and yes, a build that uses 7 of one profession is nonsense, but a 3rd rit or 3rd mes in a balanced team is not, by any means.) is the exact same thing as selling a higher rate of XP or a higher rate of gold drops. It's the same as a 3rd person shooter selling stronger bullets. Its unfair, and it's not what I want in this game, and its something a lot of people dont want in thier games either. (PS: save the 'like it or leave it' bullshit for the uneducated rednecks, please. It's retarded.)
Also, ANET used to stand for being a company that wouldn't have done this. Its a damn sad day that this is the direction they are headed. They told us back then that it was against thier beliefs and policies to have an in-store advantage, and thats part of what made them successful. (PS: skill unlocks were just as available in-game as in-store, this isn't, but it would be a good fix to this monumental screw-up.) Now, the new management pissed all over the notion of fairness and shat out an update that goes against everything they said they were, and I'm sorry to see them lower themselves.
The idea of having your own custom re-skinned heroes was actually a great one. Really, that was a damn good idea, and if it had been implemented properly I would have applauded them and bought - quickly, and for more than one account. Because this used to be a company I enjoyed supporting, and I've bought at least one of damn near everything they've ever offered in that store. We'll see how that goes in the future, but I don't plan to purchase anything from them again while this stands as it is. And whether ANET cares whether I buy or not, I did.

aspi

aspi

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2010

eeew

N/Rt

Quote:
Originally Posted by FengShuiDove View Post
Or effective. The only thing that gives "2 Man Discordway" an advantage over regular DWay isn't the extra copies of Discord, it's the ability to bring Smite support, Channeling support, and other such lines along with the spike damage from the first 3 Discords.

It's kind of the illusion of being more effective, since a Smiter's Boon RoJ Monk is a way better addition to 3 Discord heroes than an "N/Mo Smite Support Discord".
Wow your Roj monk does not roj a leftover single target? Because my ogden sure is an idiot when it comes to roj.

Voodoo Rage

Voodoo Rage

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Mar 2008

Sacramento, CA

Geezers

R/

Any of the expansion packs would have provoked the same argument. Heck did anything imbalance the game more than Eye of the North?

siadina

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2006

A Fate Worse Then Death

R/

I will post here what I said in-game last night.

I don't care. I get to run around killing stuff with all my babies *squeee!*
In-game advantage or not, I got the full set. And not to be super leetz, but to have a chance to have my toons, which I have put my all into, be my heroes!
Not a gimpy looking old man monk, but my beautiful Akina!
Not the spiked out sin, but my steam-punk Namine!
And Sia joining them all in pinkalicous glory, complete with furrroucious ears!

I am not planning on rolling 8 necros, that is just silly. But I have pimped out my houris, and now I have the most beautiful set of heroes ever!

dancing gnome

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2006

House of Wandering Souls

R/Rt

Quote:
Originally Posted by Voodoo Rage View Post
Any of the expansion packs would have provoked the same argument. Heck did anything imbalance the game more than Eye of the North?
Expansions are completely different from microtransaction (mico in content, not in price).Expansions are accepted for game design because they do literally that - they expand the content of the game and the world. There are many reasons why microtransactions are purchased by significantly less people than expansions are.

Mercenaries don't expand the game world, they expand the gameplay options exclusively for those who paid for them. That is wrong.

Riot Narita

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyy High View Post
How many times do I have to say this....people were already doing this by purchasing a second account and running with 6 heroes. And after thinking it over for a day, that still might be the better option if you want to run full discordway, unless you plan on wasting 4 of your character slots on necros.
Actually, it only takes 1 character slot to fill however many mercenary slots you bought:

1. Roll a new PvP character.
2. Stick a costume on it (optional).
3. Register as a mercenary.
4. Delete character.
5. Repeat from 1 as needed.

That's what I did...

drkn

drkn

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2009

Wroc??aw, Poland

Midnight Mayhem

Me/

I'm torn about this issue.

One side - it's a thoughtful addition. I mean - fun thing to have in game, enjoyable to see your alts rather than Dunkoro and Olias.
It won't break the game, really - seven necros? Probably subpar to most balanced 7 heroes teams, which everyone can line up. Third, fourth ritualist? If i wanted (or, more to say, needed) another one, i'd just run N/Rt or E/Rt. Or even R/Rt, if for spirits. Six SF eles? SF sucks in HM, and you can steamroll pretty much whole NM now with 7 balanced heroes. Third mes? I don't think mesmer heroes have enough interesting builds requiring a mesmer primairy.

But on the other hand... it does provide a game-changing opportunities for players that are not only cosmetic. Game-breaking or not, they're something more than looks. They might provide a little edge over other builds, even if not noticeable in PvE (if heroes were available in PvP now, that would be WAY different problem).
The issue isn't about how much it gives - it's just the fact that it's there.

I'd prefer not to see it in the store. Same as i would prefer to see the Vessel drops deleted (at least triple-modded offhands, inherently modded scythes are not an issue), as well as perma 15% damage items. Or let them stay in game, but make them customized for ANet's staff - they will still be worth their collection value (even better if they were customized for Regina), but wouldn't bring any edge over other players.

Mordakai

Mordakai

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Aug 2005

Kyhlo

W/

Wow, and here I was thinking that mercs were useless...

actually, I still think mercs are useless!

7 Necros?! Really?


I really don't get the arguments against this: If you really, really MUST have 7 necros in your party then by all means buy the mercs.

BUT most of us are going to do just fine with 7 heroes. Any heroes, really. Because the game is already easy mode, I really don't get how it can be any easier.

And I really like the title changes: I might actually go for "LDoA" and "Drunkard" now.

These are good changes by ArenaNet, once again for free, and having the option to buy mercs to pay for these awesome changes is fine by me.


TL,DR: Any "benefit" offered by Mercs is negligible, and IMO, not worth the price tag.

dancing gnome

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2006

House of Wandering Souls

R/Rt

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mordakai View Post
BUT most of us are going to do just fine with 7 heroes. Any heroes, really. Because the game is already easy mode, I really don't get how it can be any easier.
Why does it have to be easier to be wrong?

What if people simply think a party of 7 ranger heroes would be incredibly fun to play? What if someone thinks they would really enjoy trying out a 7 hero monk party throwing smites all over the place? What about 7 Searing Flames eles? I can't do these things even if I think they would be incredibly fun to do but other people can because they spent more money than me.

Why are those people unable to access those gameplay features not cosmetic feature and people who paid money for more heroes are able to do so?