So I guess the poll should only be asking those who have not bought a Path to Glory and currently do not intend to. this way we are keying in on those that have not been those big spenders that they worry about skewing the answers. And then a separate questions asking if one has bought a Path to Glory, how likely are they to buy another one in its current form?
Valid observations.
Yeah, it may warrant a few more polls to get more accurate data.
That is totally reasonable and I’ve been around for games that did these kinds of things with loopholes like “well, we own the product and not you, so we can change our proprietary data whenever we please” and it’s massively infuriating that you bought something assuming its value, and get a different value in return.
But while you make a valid and understandable point, I think quite a few people still want mythics they don’t even plan to use, just due to the “collector” appeal. They want to finish off their collection (for bragging rights or whatever) and not necessarily for the use of the cards.
Example: I want Pharos-Ra. I don’t need souls, so I don’t really want him for my team. But I’d like to have him for kingdom bonuses and getting closer to finishing my collection. Am I willing to pay $50 for him? …maybe. But more willing than I am now
While “face value of the gems” is not a really fair evaluation method, micro-transactions aren’t necessarily a requirement either. I’ve played multiple F2P collectible/gacha games where a normal single purchase (the equivalent of a random legendary, 1 card) was $20 or so (microtransactions were only for energy, not collectibles). So I think the special thing for GoW isn’t the actual $, but that the devs have shown a willingness to circumvent the normal gacha model for the benefit of their customers.
The other thing is that the unique nature of team building for GW makes some of these less-than-useful mythics more than useful.
Other than wanting to complete my collection, I never had a use for Pharos or Wulfgarok until GW hit.
Whilst the confrontational way of delivering it isn’t making any friends, I actually agree with @Delinquent that it makes very little business sense for the devs to change Path to Glory to guarantee a new Mythic.
Running such a poll is harmless enough, though it’s a very tiny sample of an incredibly pre-selected population, which is a tiny part of the game’s overall player base. I don’t think the devs will consider it market research.
@htismaqe no offence intended; when @sirrian puts his business hat on, in the cold clear light of publisher scrutiny, such a change seems pretty unlikely to happen to me…
I don’t disagree. But like I said, they’re considering it. There’s no reason not to provide input, even if it gets ultimately ignored.
The other thing is that the crafting system may make all of this moot. That’s a reasonable response from the devs as well.
While I don’t disagree with your points, I’d counter with, if you were Sirrian, how would you tap into the currently underserved late game gamer market made up of people like those who’ve thrown their hats into this conversation? Or are you of the opinion that there are too few of us to make any kind of financially significant contributions worth Sirrian’s consideration?
I’ve bought 7 until now, finding 5 mythics missing, and the 7th is ending next week and I hope to find one I miss (the new dragon, gard or wulfgarok).
Since it’s not guaranteed it will be probably my last one. But if they grant a new one I’m sure I would buy at least another. At least.
Yep. As you get more mythics, the value of the Path bundle decreases (unless you need a ton of trait stones of course).
Now this I think is definitely the right answer from the devs on this scenario. You have all made some very valid points about what the bundle purchases look like from an end game perspective.
I’m still technically very early in the game (Only level 275) so I still see a lot of value in things like traitstones, which I need a ton of. I can understand how frustrating it would be to own almost everything and have no need for anything but the few missing cards and not have a great avenue to get them. Put in that perspective, I might think twice about dropping $50 even with a guaranteed new mythic card, if that’s the only thing I’ll get from it.
But a crafting system… That’s where it’s at, and I’m so glad that it’s finally become more than just something that is constantly requested.
Hi gang,
Darn devs release Guild Wars and go and get me interested again! And as one of our self-proclaimed-F2P-experts, I couldn’t lurk any longer!
I have to say that I think @Jainus hit the nail on the head. Just to clarify one point that both @htismaqe and @Sththunder made, it’s actually not true that most games focus on low-cost bundles or make most of their money from these bundles. In virtually every F2P game, the highest cost bundle drives the most revenue. I know I’ve said this before, but about 5% of people ever spend and 5% of those (0.25% of all players) account for 50%+ of revenue. F2P games are driven by a small number of players spending hundreds and thousands of dollars. Every F2P game has to cater to this players and balance their economy around this players or else they go under. It’s an ironclad rule of F2P games.
Lastly, my hope, @ogunther, is that Crafting does just that and taps into the people that want to play a ton and spend a moderate amount. That said, they’ll need to put some restrictions around crafting Mythics so it isn’t too cheap to get a Mythics (possibly by restricting how quickly you can get resources needed to craft them). Otherwise they could put themselves in a situation where you can play a moderate amount, drop a few bucks, and get every Mythic. As nice as that sounds as a player, it’s not good for business when chasing Mythics is the main thing driving spending.
Bear in mind, it’s incumbent upon everyone voting yes in here to actually spend the money when the time comes!
As you say, I think there are too few of us in that end game state to be an economic factor…
I honestly am not sure they can do anything for end-gamers. They made guild tasks so generous for so long that end-gamers have a horribly skewed concept of value. Anything they offer to end-gamers is game-breakingly generous for non-end-gamers. I think the best they can do is stuff like the PtG and Growth packs which are one-time-only or gated by time. And clearly people aren’t happy with even those…
I just bought the Path of Glory because I am tired of traitstone farming for the troops that would have helped in GW last week that I didn’t have traited.
Been farming now for 6 weeks… - figure $50 is definitely worth it based on my time costs.
Welcome back @studs btw
No kidding. Nice to see him back.
I voted Yes and Maybe, because objectively it is a great deal.
But realistically i wouldn’t be able to put such money regularly in the game because “Banana money” is quite devalued (in the last three years or so) and each pack would cost me basically a half of my rent…
I still support the idea, even as i’m not “Mr. Moneybags” to revel with it.