Everyone seems to be either over-hyping or over-hating on GW2 announced microtransaction system.

Pay 2 Win many call it.

So, I ask you this - Guild Wars 1 veterans/current players ONLY:

How have you felt about the GW1 business model?

*Note - anyone trying to turn this into yet ANOTHER p2win or f2p etc. etc. debate/debacle will be reported for off-topic violation.

Only looking for the experiences, thoughts, and impressions of current/former Guild Wars 1 players in regards to the B2P + microtransactions model.

Did you feel preasured to make purchases after the initial box price in order to keep playing?

To play competitively in either PvE or PvP?

etc.

I'll cheat and say i am a vet... despite having about 2 weeks experience before quiting.

I feel it is bad... basically making us buy a game THEN pay to get an advantage against others.

At the same time, its understandable that some extra income would be needed. A lot more is server side and it means that it takes a lot more work to maintain the game. Having expansions released every so often would not likely be enough to fund the game and keep it running from a profit standpoint. 

If you are a member of a guild that NEEDS to be FIRST in EVERYTHING...then yes I think the Cash shop should be used to maximise your XP gain/money for game reasons.

However if you are a member of 99% of guilds, then you likely do not need that 'extra' boost the cash shop offers. 

That said, if you are however a lazy person...or can't be bothered to 'earn' your way through the game / 'haven't got the time' then the cash shop is also for you.

As a hardcore player who will most likely not be needing the cash shop, am I intimidated? no. Even if my toughest competitors use the cash shop, if my guild is truly hardcore will it matter? no.

So the reason we are even debating this?

Long time Guild Wars player (was an alpha tester 4yrs. to release) and recently quit playing. Sick of all these posts honestly if you want the truth. However, I won't be purchasing GW2 now that cash shop has been revealed and ANet has not behaved in the manner I would ever expect them too. Matter of fact, as a veteran gamer of 35yrs and MMO player since their inception, this genre is done, dead, game over for me. Welcome to the new trend and I don't like it one bit. 

I don't have a problem paying a monthly sub fee for a game I enjoy either. The best thing any developer coud do today is to make a wide selection of payment options for all types of players. Give me the option to have access to everything with a sub fee and give those that want absolute F2P with cash shops their option. It is not difficult to do but they refuse to. Too much money in F2P cash shop systems.

Originally posted by Purutzil

I'll cheat and say i am a vet... despite having about 2 weeks experience before quiting.

I feel it is bad... basically making us buy a game THEN pay to get an advantage against others.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disqualify your post in order for this thread NOT to become yet another pointless debate/rant and for actual GW1 veterans with lots of experience to please speak up.

That's like saying, I played WoW for a week and I heard raiding sucked so I'm saying raiding sucked.

What I want to hear is what people who have been playing Guild Wars 1 a LOT since 2005 have to say about the business model.

You know, the ones with a lot of experience with it.

And I want them to be honest!

I playe ALOT of GW and had all of the expansions. I never spend a penny on anything else in the game. And one of the main reasons I got into GW is because I didn't have the money to get into a sub mmo, nor did I saw it fair. Think about it, since the beginning of gaming you pay for the box price and expansions. GW just seemed natural.

I never found myself having to spend money to keep up or because it was an obstacle, I only spent money on expantions because they added more content. I never played competitively but I did GvG ALOT and we did get to fight agaisnt top ladder teams.

Originally posted by sonicbrew

Long time Guild Wars player (was an alpha tester 4yrs. to release) and recently quit playing.  However, I won't be purchasing GW2 now that cash shop has been revealed and ANet has not behaved in the manner I would ever expect them too.

Why?

I don't want another debate on pro's con's.

I want the "why" and the "what" from the people who have experienced Anet's business model to it's fullest.

played GW since 2005

only thing I bought, other than the games themselves, were a couple of costumes

How do I feel about the payment model? Fantastic.

The model is fine and is the same as in GW1, albeit it's a bit more advanced in features.

Originally posted by Kuppa

I playe ALOT of GW and had all of the expansions. I never spend a penny on anything else in the game. And one of the main reasons I got into GW is because I didn't have the money to get into a sub mmo, nor did I saw it fair. Think about it, since the beginning of gaming you pay for the box price and expansions. GW just seemed natural.

I never found myself having to spend money to keep up or because it was an obstacle, I only spent money on expantions because they added more content. I never played competitively but I did GvG ALOT and we did get to fight agaisnt top ladder teams.

This is EXACTLY the kind of post I am looking for.

1. Answers the questions asked instead of going on some pointless rant that will only cause more trolling/flaming.

2. Honest

3. Gives examples of both activities done in game and feelings on whether or not you felt preasured or forced.

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/4850896/thread/345151#4850896

I just made a thread :S

Originally posted by DJJazzy

played GW since 2005

only thing I bought, other than the games themselves, were a couple of costumes

How do I feel about the payment model? Fantastic.

YES

Exactly, another GOOD post thank you.

What I'd really like to see is the thoughts from a long time GW1 player who spent a lot on the game outside of the boxes and why they did.

Played Guild Wars for many years, something like 4k hours clocked. I purchased a few things in the cash shop during that time including character slots and some of the aditional packs, but no I never felt pressured to buy anything from the shop, and nothing I have seen from GW2 makes me feel any different. 

After playing many f2p games I can say that ArenaNet is one of the only companies I trust not to screw me over, and I can safely say this after many years of playing their game. I have no reason to believe they will change and yes I have seen the leaked ss, and no it hasnt changed my mind. 

Played on and off for 6 years now, and I have never once felt "compelled" to buy anything from the store. Matter of fact I never purchased anything from it ever. My wife bought the games on there instead of goin out, and getting them from a Walmart or wherever. 

Now I have felt like purchasing an extra character slot. Just so I could go back and have a Presearing toon. But i kept saying to myself I would just level it like I did all the other ones lol. 

And I never felt like I was being left behind my friends who all spent a ton of cash in the item shop. Buddy of mine bought a few character slots and his companion whats it whatever its named. Never felt like i couldnt compete with him.

So no. I do not feel that the way they run their Item Shop will have any impact on my gameing, just because someone purchased something. And to make it all better. I CAN FARM GOLD TO BUY WHAT I WANT. Yea im a cheap bastard lol. But im sure im goin to buy a character slot and other stuff this time around.

[Mod Edit]

Its simple.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Feel free to pass on this game if you do not believe in this philosophy. It is your loss. 

There is nothing wrong with this business model. There is something wrong with some people who don't want to accept it.

Been playing it for years. Over those years, I've gained a tremendous amount of respect for ArenaNet. I trust them to make the right decision. If they mess up at some point, well, guess we'll see what happens. I personally won't judge until I get to see what they're offering at launch.

I was in GW1 from day one and have played off and on ever since.  I've got no problem with the current business model.

As for the GW1 cash shop, yes I felt pressured to buy from the cash shop.  My vanity abolsutely demanded that I buy this costume for my Mesmer one Halloween.  I felt had no choice.  It look so damned cool that it became a necessity.  I blame ArenaNet for making such gorgeous costumes and putting them up for sale.  I guess it was also P2W because after I paid, I felt I'd won.

I bought a couple of other costume pieces as well, at least four additional bankslots, two extra character slots (giving me ten), a couple of makeover sessions to change my hairstyles (vanity is a running theme in how I spend my money) and one name change.  I think that's about it. 

The winged demon costume was the only one that was "forced" on me though.  I'm looking forward to having even more forced on me in the future.

Xerith and Callin great posts thank you.

I'd really like to hear the thoughts of a GW1 vet who spent a lot in the shop and why they did - anyone out there?

I've recently played all of Guild Wars 1.. I've done all the campaigns (including all EotN and its dungeons) and completed many of the final dungeons (the big ones like Underworld and Fissure of Woe) and almost all hard mode objectives, solo. Got 30/50 in HoM and could easily get well over 40/50 with a little more time as many of my titles are 'almost' complete. I've decided to stop there though and have a break from MMOs.

I did not once buy or feel the need to buy anything from the cash shop. More bank storage would have been nice but I survived without it.