Purchase More Character Slots!

Ummm - you forgot that people who only buy factions cannot go to Prophecies and back. Granted you paid for Prophecies, but I do not think this is quite true. Don't merge accounts, you'll have your 8 slots for the same price as "new" players. If you choose to merge - this is how it is.

No, that's completely wrong. If I buy factions with prophecies, I'm only gaining the access to Cantha and 2 character slots. If I buy factions without prophecies, i'm getting access to Cantha and 4 character slots. Why should the fact that I already purchased Prophecies have an effect on how many character slots I get when I buy Factions? That's ridiculous logic.
No, I didn't forget anything. I already PAID for the ability to do prophecies. I'm being punished by paying more - $19.98, to get the same gameplay that I would have if I were a new player. This whole "merging" of accounts is complete rubbish. They're charging existing customers $19.98 more than new customers to get the same thing!

On another thread I joked about people buying 12 slots... oops!

This is a good balance, IMO. Those that don't need slots, won't spend the extra money. Those that do now have the option.

$10.00 is perfect.. not too expensive/not to cheap... just right... I want NOW not summer 2006... LOL Sign me up for the slots!!! Where do I pay, who do I pay, and here is my Credit card number.... XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX exp XX/XX ...

Only those with X-Rays glasses can see my CC Number....

Dude....Really....Some people just can't be satisfied.

You don't NEED extra slots. Anet is saving you the cost of buying a new copy of GW to have extra slots, if you so desire. Ten bucks is really a drop in the bucket for most of us employed people, typing in this forum from work. What's the problem? Even it was free, people would still be here complaining that it isn't free enough!

I'm probably crazy but I would have paid $20 per slot lol.

I dont see how you are getting ripped off. If you go to a sub shop to buy a sandwich, you either pay the money for whatever you get on the sub or you go to another sub shop. The sub shop doesnt say "ok I'll give you extra meat for free just because you are complaining". My store doesnt. If you dont like whats on it, go somewhere else. Eventually if enough people do leave, then they drop the prices. As long as people buy it, it will be what it is. Same goes for guild wars.

Great argument, except there's a few gaping holes that you fail to acknowledge. First, Anet isn't saving me the cost of buying a new copy of GW to have extra slots. If I were to buy Factions, I would be getting 2 less character slots than if I were to only buy Factions with Prophecies. To make that difference up, I'd have to fork over $19.98 of my hard earned money for naught. Simply put, they're charging me MORE for the SAME THING.

Umm, no.

Adding Factions to your Prophesies account gives you 2 more slots with access to Prophesies & Factions. Factions alone has no access to Prophesies for your 4 Factions characters.

This has been discussed in depth in many threads before, no need to reiterate - go back and read those threads. The original problem started with only 4 slots for Prophesies and 6 primary classes. Factions only gets 4 slots for 8 primary classes. Quit whining and be happy they are offering more slots at all.

No it's not the same - 4 extra character slotes = £23.96, New acount of GW 1 £17.99, new account of Factions £21.

Nice one ANET take away 2 slots because we choose to link chap 1 and 2 then sell them back to us for an extra £12

/agree with Rok

By only buying factions and not merging, you would get 4 slots BUT dont get to go back to Tyria (correct me if im wrong).

People who already have Prophicies ALREADY PAID FOR IT. Why should they have to pay $19.98 more for the same thing? When you're buying Factions, are you getting access to Tyria? No; you're getting access to Cantha.

lol check?

New costumer:
Cantha, 4 Slots, Skills from Factions

Old Costumer:
Tyria & Cantha, 4 Slots+2, Skills from both.

You are getting charged more because you are getting MORE than them. Remember, you arent paying for 1 way access, its both directions.

A Canthan only gets 4 accounts. BUT. No matter how many more accounts they buy, they wont have access to Tyria unless they buy it.

Except, they are not. You get 4 slots with initial purchase, 2 slots for each chapter after that. It doesn't matter what order you buy them in, you'll never get more than an additional 2 slots from merging Chapters.

Why? Because Anet needs money. Because you do not need to buy extra slots or additional Chapters or pay monthly fees, yet Anet has the same expense as other MORPGs. As Jeff Strain says, MORPGS are not like other games where you buy a CD and forget it. They are a service, which has to be continually monitored and updated. That costs Anet money, and if Guild Wars is going to survive, they need to make money to be profitable.

This is a great way to do that... b/c if you don't want or can't afford additional slots, you don't have to buy them! Win-Win.

Then why eliminate 2 slots when combining? To have access?
I already paid for that access.
So you are telling me that because I want to combine 2 seperate purchases - I must lose something - right?

. Your 'need' argument lacks logic. Why stop there - why not say you don't need new slots at all. Keep it at 4.

WTF is special about merging? I already PAID for that content. Why merging is so special. It is not unique or unexpected. In fact, it is probably the overwhelming rule to all who already bought Prophecies.

Did people expect not to be able to upgrade their current characters to Cantha? This 'merging is holier than thou' makes no sense.

When did upgrading your current characters become something special for a chapter release to a game?

I mean it is a 'chapter' right? That is what ANet is calling it. So the expectation to continue the story with current characters is expected if not a right.

"Because Anet needs money" is not a reason to charge existing customers more for the same thing. The only reason they set up the whole arbitrary "2 slots per chapter after that" is to sell you more slots.

... to make more money. Nothing is wrong with a company making money by providing a service that people want.

You don't want the extra slots? Don't buy them. Don't buy Factions. It's your choice.

No. You paid for a game with certain content. You know what the content is. If you are not happy with the content, don't buy the game. It really is that simple.

EXACTLY. The "merging" of the accounts causing you to lose two character slots is entirely an arbitrary decision by Anet to, as revealed by today's decision, sell you more character slots.

I wasn't trying to make an argument as to the morality of a company trying to make money. What I'm saying is that they'd have more return business if they would give 4 character slots per added on campaign, and THEN sell you extra character slots at $10/slot. I'm sure lots of people would still buy them. People are already asking about the maximum amount you can have per account. At any rate, the issue isn't about my choice. The fact of the matter is, they're offering less for existing customers than they are for new customers. As an existing customer, I feel like I'm getting the raw end of the deal.

For people in need of storage space, the buyable slots are largely useless;

~$10-11 (1.78 dollars to a pound) USD for a buyable slot vs $50 USD for 4 new chars and a new storage.

Perhaps more importantly, Guild Wars isn't $50 from every retailer anymore. You can get for $40 at a handful, and I'd imagine it's even more heavily discounted elsewhere.

For PvP players, it's not really an issue.
For PvE players in general, I'm not sure whether they need them or not. I don't, but I can't speak for anyone else.

I'd imagine some would benefit more from the slots, while others prefer simply getting another account.

Again, what's wrong with that? You don't want Anet to make money by providing a service people want?

They don't have to give you anything. They could have made merging Factions with no slots, or just one. Instead, they offer 2 slots. Not enough? Buy more. I fail to see the problem.

Sure it's about your choice! It's not like Anet is holding a gun to your head, telling you what to do! Obviously, Anet is doing this for a reason.

The funny thing is, they could have offered a CE with an additional slot for $20 extra, and people would eat it up! Anet knows this. They do market studies. They feel it's worth the extra money to lose a few customers who feel the slots issue is a make or break deal, because they know, despite all the complaints, most people are going to buy Factions regardless.

And why not? One slot, or four, it still will be a fun game to play. And in the end, that's all that matters.

I'm glad to see the endless argument was actually useful. Flawless victory. Sacrificing two slots for an access to Cantha for my existing characters is a deal. $10 for extra slots available to play in Cantha or Tyria, or to keep multiple PvP configurations? Sign me up!

Thank you A.Net.

Haven't players been requesting more slots for awhile now? I doubt that this is all part of Anet's "Corporate Money Machine" just to suck a few more dollars out of gamers pockets. You are getting an advantage by purchasing additional slots. Those who dont buy them, dont get the same advantage. I dont mind paying a couple bucks so Anet can keep me entertained for a another few months. I understand wanting the best of both worlds but I'm happy with the announcement.

I think I'll hold on to some of my greens if they're gonne nerf the gear/keg trick...

WHY?

that equals 2 storage vaults of space available to transfer through your vault between characters.

or did i miss something?

Linked storage is NOT a bonus. It is a hinderance. IE you LOSE access to another whole storage if you link your accounts, in addition to losing 2 character slots.

So is Anet going to charge us now for the "new" storage "idea" they are kicking around when they finally figure out what they are going to do with it?

Perhaps now they can charge us for new skins and personal character body modifications. Think your char's hair is terrible? 3 bucks to change it. Want a non standard color hair/skin? that'll be 4 dollars please. Oh breast size too big/small? 10 bucks please...

I do like the fact they annouce this now instead of after factions. If you are buying more then one account for storage, you can wait and not get a 2nd account.

Think of the reaction if they annouced it after factions released.

Well its a nice idea even if i think people will kind of get an evil advantage out if it somehow. I would like ANet to give you 10 slots for free but you cant ask for everything can you?

I think im gonna go buy 2 slots but im not shure yet...

Now that the mechanism for such policies are in place, all I'd like to ask for is the ability to merge 2 accounts. Heck, I'd gladly take a one char slot hit (i.e. going from [4 & 4] to [4 + 3]) to be able to do so.

Doubt that Gaile would respond to my post, but any chances of that coming true?

What are we all whinning about, other MMORG charge even more for slots, plus some rtaise the monthly fee.

Me personally I wish they had done this earlier,
new game for mules $39.99
4 slots $40.00

Since I'm going to buy a new game for my brother in law, can I give him my account and just by 4 more slots?

Because if it's just storage space you're after, you get 4 more characters with the additional purchase of Guild Wars Prophecies AND their Storage.

If it's additional characters to play with you want, that doesn't apply, but that's not what I said either.

The only advantage to the extra slots is that they add on to your existing account, so you don't have to go through all that trouble just to get a seperate account all set up the way your original one was.

Every company does this with "new customer offers." The new customer offers are always sweeter than the existing customers. That's because the company usually LOSES money to provided those offers to new customers. Then existing customers are mad because they don't get the same deals so they have to give a discount to their existing customers losing MORE money.

In this case no anet will not lose more money but how many slots do you really need? If each chapter adds a slot for each new proffesion how many are you really going to need?

I think this is more of a buy 1-2 slots and be done with it. Upgrade more slots with the future chapters. This is OPTIONAL which means if you don't want the slots or don't need them you don't have to buy them.

I'll buy 1 more so I can make a chracter to stay in presear.

WHEEL

look at the figures

regular merged at v49.99 equals 6 slots CLEAR SO FAR?

ADD 2 SLOTS AT 10 dollars each AND YOU HAVE 69.99 THE SAME PRICE EXACTLY.

WHAT IS THE PRICE PENALTY TO A CHAPTER 1 PLAYER?

Slots are fine.

What I dont want happening is what happens to all popular things after time: They start charging you more and more to keep up.

Like the post back in the first pages about charging for this or that using the "no monthly fee" thing as an excuse...

As long as I dont see that. I'm fine.

I wish people would stop fixating on their own circumstances long enough to get a glimpse of the bigger picture. The hardcore forum-rat with thousands of hours played is not the demographic these decisions are being made around. The limits on character slots are there largely to encourage a different pricing scheme for families - namely, one account per person, not one account per machine.

I don't think they honestly care how many characters you have on your account, but they want them to all be *your* characters. They don't want you to have six characters, plus each of your kids with two, plus one for your wife, plus one for that buddy who comes over every Tuesday. Their financial life is tied to the number of copies sold, not the monthly fees coming in, and they need people to have their own copies.

You want to know why you don't get 8 slots for merging? Exactly the same reasons. They don't want two people who share a machine to each buy one game and merge them to get full, unhindered access to both sets of content. That's why the formula isn't 4 characters per chapter, but 2 characters *per account* plus 2 characters *per chapter*.

---

I'm also getting really bloody tired of people arguing about character slots as though the slot is the ultimate determinant of value. What is the value of a character slot that you can't access content with? Exactly, nothing. The only reason you care about a character slot at all is because it can be used to access the game world, find loot, interact with other players, and otherwise *play the game*. Why are people talking about things like how big the game world is, what the new items are, and generally how much content there is in the expansion? Because that's what they're paying for. If there isn't much for them to play through, character slots become worth effectively nothing.

What's the value of a character slot that can never leave pre-searing?

A character slot that only has access to a single chapter costs around $12. Character slots with access to two chapters cost $16 for starters. Is a character with access to twice the content worth 33% more? Not if you listen to the arguments here, where the slot is the *only* measure of value. What about when chapter 3 comes out, and you get slots with triple the content for $18 - 50% more money for triple the content!

A.Net does everyone a huge favor and offers additional slots for those of us with way too many hours logged and not enough space - and actually offers them at an awesome value. Merged account slots are worth $16 but you can buy them for $10? Awesome. It keeps getting better as you add more chapters as well.

If you're worshipping the slots and not the content, you just got a fat offer from A.Net to *double* the content for each of your character slots for the low price of $20. Complaints? Naturally. Unhindered access to content should be free, because slots are the only thing with value.

I'm going to be interested to see what these people's reaction is when the bundles start coming out. Haven't thought about it? You know they're coming. Chapter 1+2 together for the price of one, Christmas special!

But perhaps more interesting, would be how those reactions would change if that bundle only gave four character slots, instead of six.

Peace,
-CxE

Great point, twicky. If Anet offered 4 slots with every chapter, that would quickly become a LOT of slots to manage - 40 by Chapter 10.

From the game and dev thread:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/n...eply&p=1279626

It was never a loss of 2. Its a gain of 2.

OOOH!! I thought of a great analogy.

I live in NJ. We have a theme park called Six Flags Great Adventure. Next to Great Adventure is a water park called Hurricane Harbor and a drive through safari called...well the Safari.

ANYWAYS......I go with a group of friends. Theres a total of 4 of us. We pay for access to the theme park (Great Adventure) for 4. Now the next day, we pay to go to Hurricane Harbor. Thats a price of admission for 4.

We have access to everything in the theme park for 4 people. But we cant go to Hurricane Harbor. The next day we have access to Hurrican Harbor, but no rollercoasters there.

So the 3rd day, we decide to go to both. We buy 2 sets of admission for 4. Theres only 4 People who can go, but theres 8 tickets. But all 4 of us have access to either the theme park or the water park. We decide to do rollercoasters in the morning, then jump to the waterpark in the afternoon.

You get it? Even though theres 8 tickets and we paid for 2 parks. THERES STILL ONLY 4 OF US WHO CAN GO.

(Now no one bring up the fact that we can have 4 other people go to the other park, cause they stamp your hand..and that wouldnt be the analogy to a merged account :P)

I dont believe Anet's decision to sell more slots was the reason that we only gain 2 slots for merging. I feel that its a reaction to the massive complaints from the people who either A) Dont get it or B) Dont agree with it.

Well put as always Ensign. *clap