Feedback talk:Gaile Gray/Archive Product Information/Sep 2 2009 - Dec 2010

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Fall Storage Sale: 25% off Xunlai Storage Panes!

Now stuff can be sold under 8.99euro.? Since a person said in past that selling 1 reskin credit wasn't possible because people need to buy stuff for at least 8.99euro. And that was the reason why you needed to buy 5 at ones. Or am I wrong? 84.80.151.136 22:49, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Hi. I don't think that anyone said that things could not be sold at a price under €8.99 but that it didn't make sense at the time to offer things at a lower cost, and bundling to reach what they call a "price point" made more sense. (Just like a single can of soda costs more, per can, than a 6-pack.) It particularly doesn't make sense to offer things at $1 here, £1 there, and €1 in that other case. I would assume that the sales and marketing teams discussed the matter and decided that dipping a bit below €8.99 was ok for a short-term promotion. But I do not expect to see things such as an individual hair style offered for a tiny price. (Don't hold me to that, it's more a personal opinion than canon. :) ) -- Gaile 23:40, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

I am fine with it since I don't like ingame stores were you can get waepons,armor etc for low prices instead of buying them ingame. Things like this aren't so bad if it doesnt aren't lots of stuff(storage tabs, reskin credits). Otherwhich they game becomes a game with itemshop etc. And I don't like that since it is just a other payment option then paying for the game each month. 84.80.151.136 06:32, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

I understand your thoughts. We have always said that we won't sell items that make someone more powerful or that give him or her a gameplay advantage. That holds true with all that we've offered, in my opinion. -- Gaile 20:36, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, and keep that thought:PDeath Sligher 22:28, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

No advantage hmm? What about perma-pres with the fire imps, anyone trying to be a succesful farmer there has a big advantage if they have another lvl 1-19 ele there. Da Sonic Tuesday 22:39, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

PvP Access Kit functionality

Hi, I have Nightfall at the moment and I was wondering whether or not I should buy the PvP Access Kit. I mainly play PvP and the Nightfall campaign suffices for PvE exploits. My concern is to whether the Access Kit provides access to Alliance Battles. Thanks. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by Pollypocketyeah (talk).

I know that AB only works if you have a Kurzick/Luxon Alliance. So if you are in a Guild that has an affliation to either the Kurzicks or Luxons, you WILL be allowed in. Your guild leader must do this by travelling down to Cavalon (Luxon) or House Zu Heltzer (Kurzick) and work on the Allegiance thing. Any other info should be within the Kurzick/Luxon guides. I am 99.9% sure this is the only way to get into AB, others can confirm or deny this answer. Katherinezoltin 07:12, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

See Alliance battle#Access. --Silver Edge 07:16, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

The PvP Access Kit does give access to alliance battles. But like Katherinezoltin said, your guild will need to be affiliated with either faction or you'll have to be invited to a guild with an affiliation. If you do not have either the PvP kit or factions, you'll be unable to join an alliance battle regardless of the guild you're currently in has an affiliation or not. --Dunyas 21:50, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Guild Wars as teamwork training

Your thoughts

Hi Gaile,

I'm running a project where I'm looking at using Guild Wars to teach our staff how to collaborate virtually. It's a perfect game because twitch skills aren't nearly as big a factor in winning as teamwork skills. We can also control the environment to a very high level using skirmishes in GvG settings.

My questions: 1) Do you know anyone else who's doing this? 2) How do I actually acquire a whole bunch of GW PvP Access Kit keys? The fraud restrictions basically make it impossible for me to purchase more than one key. What I want is to purchase about 20 of them at once. Is there any mechanism to do this? E.g. net cafe licensing? ZaidDyan 06:40, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

This is one of the most awesome ideas I've ever seen. elix Omni 10:10, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

I agree, as teamwork training, GW seems a great (and fun) idea. And we all know, training is often more successful when there's a bit of fun involved.

As to the question of a large number of keys, please let me ask internally and I'll let you know. Would you be wanting to use a single credit card for the purchase of 20 keys? I can see if someone can "hand process" such a purchase, so please let me know. -- Gaile 00:42, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

Hi Gaile - I would happily use a single card to purchase the accounts. In the meanwhile, we've just had a whole bunch of people purchase accounts using their own credit cards and we're repaying them. But being able to buy in bulk will not only help us scale this, but we're looking at selling the whole thing to clients as a team-building workshop. ZaidDyan 04:41, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

Hi. I checked with our Billing and Account Support Team, and the lead said that they don't have a means to initiate mass sales on a single CC. I think you've settled on a brilliant work-around! :) -- Gaile 04:26, 3 January 2010 (UTC)

The training event went very well, fyi. We'd like to turn it into an external offering, but without a bulk licensing ability we'll have to look at other games, which is a shame. Is there any possibility of GW ever making a bulk-purchase option available? Could this be an option for GW2? ZaidDyan

I thought commercial advantage of the guild wars franchise, without approval of Arenanet, is not allowed. Am i right? And how can one be sure this is not used for illegal activities like a gold farming company, and just masqurading the intentions? Just a thought. Didis 13:21, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Please read the original post. Your comments are entirely off the mark. -- Gaile 17:01, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

I appologize, the risk manager in me was talking... :) Didis 18:02, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

I understand. :) -- Gaile 05:48, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

I have asked about licenses for some years, but I just don't think they'll happen for Guild Wars. It's entirely possible that they will be on offer for Guild Wars 2, but it's too early to say. I wish that I could suggest something other than the "buy individually and get reimbursed," but I think that's the way to go. -- Gaile 05:48, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Gaile

For the security update. It's appreciated. -- FreedomBound 01:58, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes, thank you! Me likey! :D Does nothing for keyloggers, but a very good step in other respects. Rose Of Kali 02:10, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Hmmm--Unendingfear File:User Unendingfear Crane eats peanut.jpg 02:23, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Yea, thank the guys who coded this lil thing just before x-mas will ya? I'm sure they worked hard on it to get it out asap. So you should give em cookies! But just a note, now the /password command for making an auto login link on my desktop doesnt work anymore *pouts* I don't mind too much, just wanted to mention it.DBZVelena | (Talk page) 02:24, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

So happy you like this, guys! I think it's absolutely marvelous, too! And I know it will help a great deal in securing your account. :) -- Gaile 03:04, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure it will for people like me, who keep our characters on the wiki. Who knows, if it's a random hack though, that would be helpful :P--Unendingfear File:User Unendingfear Crane eats peanut.jpg 03:53, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

As Gaile mentioned elsewhere just now, most of the recent hacks were by RMTs in ways that make it very unlikely for them to match the stolen login info with the character names on this wiki or elsewhere. I'm very happy about this. Of course, it's not the solution to everything, but it will help a great deal, that's for sure. Kudos for the team. Rose Of Kali 04:05, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Actually, /password will still work. Just keep that little box checked and enter the name once and you're good. ··· Danny Pew Pew 09:25, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

This is just incredibly annoying for all who use multiple accounts. Takes extra time to switch and now you need to remember atleast one character name on every account you own. This could've been done in a different and better way for sure. But atleast it's something. --212.242.161.131 09:49, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

i dont get what its for? there aint no security about it, its just more anoying for the persons using multiple accounts. The accounthackers can find out what characters the target uses anyways, so its pretty much a useless update! good job! -- 83.88.176.153 09:59, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Well voiced opinions of RMT workers, right there. A F K When Needed 12:19, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, it is just to be honest with you, its not making any difference at all -- 83.88.176.153 19:51, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Yeah. If I go out and deliberately nick my mate's account, it won't make any difference at all.

However, the RMT companies ^{(those things that take accounts on a big scale, e.g., priority)} won't know the character names they now need. So it does make a difference. A F K When Needed 20:23, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

No doubt a step in the right direction. Ty for trying to keep us safe.--SirBoss 20:28, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

First of all thanx for the try to make security better. Dispite the effort i think that it's not the best sollution. When i am infected by a Taterf (malware) the problem resides at the client side. Every keystroke in relation to you're personal information, and particular intended to get MMO personal information, is being gathered on you're pc and send to the hacker. So when typing this information in the login screen, hackers can get this information just like with the easinest of just the username and password. In november 2009 microsoft reported about an increase in detection of this malware type virus. Social engeneering makes it also possible to find out with eas what character names someone has. I have mentioned in other topics a better sollution, so i wont mention that again. I am still not comfortable with the way authentication/authorisation is implemented. It's appreciated though that it's an important subject for ArenaNet. Didis 19:17, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

I feel it is noteworthy that sites like Guild Wars Guru won't help with stuff like this. However, I consider it likely that if my account is stolen, it will be by use of the internet and not by way of someone coming to my house and nicking my P.C. (which is upstairs). Thus, I ask Guild Wars to remember my account name and character name, leaving keystroke observers in the dark. A F K When Needed 20:21, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

I'm sorry, what won't Guru help with? Perhaps I'm not understanding exactly what you mean. The best way to contact me if there is an issue or if you need some help is to PM me on the Guru site and I can respond to that. Inde 20:32, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

o.O Hi there, Inde!

I'm sorry; I certainly didn't intend to cause any offense whatsoever. My point was that on sites such as Guru, people often associate a Character Name with their account on Guru. Which weakens the support offererd by the latest security orientated update.

Thanks for being concerned enough to ask about what I mean, though, it speaks volumes of your dedication to those registered with Guru. A F K When Needed 21:15, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

I was triggered by a tweet from Aion, and unsure if it has always been there. http://us.ncsoft.com/en/playsmart/ About a public service program, initiated by NCsoft® in partnership with the Entertainment Consumers Association®. Nice initiative. Maybe something for the guild wars website to link to it / mention about it. Didis 21:48, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Question about the Costumes

I friend of mine and me are hosting an event for my guild and he wants to give the winner costume keys but the only way to buy costumes atm is to link them to your acount is there anyway of getting a code for them? --Nick123 19:15, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

I'd also ask if that's permitted, if I was you. In a way that's giving something that costs RL money (costumes) for something people are doing in game (whatever the event is), which generally gets frowned upon by ArenaNet. A F K When Needed 20:49, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

i guess hadnt thought of that --Nick123 21:31, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

At this point, we don't have the capacity to "gift" items to another player, and keys are associated with the account that makes the purchase, as you said. I have mentioned the "gifting" idea in the past, and I know others have, as well. Perhaps this will be possible in the future, but right now, I believe that giving costumes as prizes wouldn't be possible. :-/ -- Gaile 01:04, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

okay that you for responding so quickly :) and happy christmas --Nick123 11:40, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

Hai Gaile. Sorry if it seems like I'm trying to incite dreaded WikiDrama^TM, I swear I'm not. When possible, would giving others gifts like costumes be considered against the rules or perfectly fine? I'm not sure where ArenaNet stand on it if it's just cosmetic stuff like that.

Happy Christmas btw A F K When Needed 16:09, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

Sorry I missed this question earlier. If there were mechanics for giving gifts incorporated into the game system, I cannot see where we would object because there doesn't appear to be a breach of the User Agreement. After all, people buy games to give friends all the time, we just don't have a mechanism to do that electronically at this time.

Personally, I think it would be cool if we did have that system, as I said before. Let me give you an example. (But first: This is a personal idea, just one player's idea, not an official announcement or a comment about something that is coming.) I think it would be cool to have "wedding" items in the game. (This is because I've seen a lot of people who like the in-game wedding idea.) Maybe you could get a bride or groom outfit, a wedding cake, maybe people could purchase special items as wedding gifts... that sort of thing. Really, it's just a sketch of an idea right now. But if we were to offer that someday, then certainly you could give those things to other people, because really that's the whole point. :) -- Gaile 05:05, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

It sounds like a simple thing to implement and even keep secure. First create a system that can generate a secure key code that will send data such as gifted items/upgrades to the account that establishes it (signs up for it). The players may then give this key to their friends who can submit it in place of their account data in the item shop so that they can gift things. The key itself is merely a tool that tells the game's software where it's sending things to, so that no security risks such as account name or even character names need be known by the gifting party. It's a much more complicated variation of the in-game trade system that uses the keys as a cover identity and routes to an account rather than specific characters. The real challenge is database integration programming to be able to offer the system and rigorous testing, not to mention updating the game's store and similar sites to use it all. I've seen a few variations of it in various online games, from inter-character offline mail systems, to gift shops, to even showing character skillsets or character sheets on web-sites. Granted, since I don't know the particulars of Guild War's coding it could be difficult to get going or even troublesome as it probably wasn't planned for in its original programming. But working from game theory and comparable examples, it's feasible yet time-consuming (I'd estimate about six months work). Seryu 06:27, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

I'm not expert in sales, but yes, if you're simply purchasing a key, why not make that key "unattached" to an account and let people gift to a friend. After all, we do that for Buddy Keys all the time. :) -- Gaile 22:43, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

True enough, that way is quite simple and requires fewer software adjustments. I think the reason it's not as popular has to do with how such a system can be used for player-scams, false reports of key code thefts, etc. The direct to account method on the other hand establishes that the person giving the gift is acknowledging exactly who is receiving it and that the key wasn't being transmitted via open chat programs and susceptible to theft by third parties. Probably why such a system is in use with Guild War's software client store: security of transactions. With buddy keys, there's no purchase involved in that specific key, so loss is just unfortunate (especially as it's a temporary thing), not something that warrants complaints and demand of legal action. Seryu 06:44, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Well, the obvious problem with keys is that people may use them however they want. That may sound fine, but there may be the case of someone getting keys to sale. You know, befriend people and get them to make them 'small gifts' and such. Even if not many people wold do that, one would be one too much. So I think it would be better if there was some way to directly attack the key to the account, with some kind of messages: "<account character name>/<Charcter name of that player in your friend list> wants to give you this gift <Key content name> which unlocks <content description>, do you want to add it to this account? [Yes/No/Ask me later]", and, of course, if the recipient has already that in his account, you won't be able to go on with the purchase. Oh, and just a quick note, we already have wedding items in the game. Dwayna's costumes work perfectly as wedding gowns. MithTalk 15:03, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

"but there may be the case of someone getting keys to sale."

How do you mean? sell them for real-world money? or sell them for in-game gold?

Even with the system you mentioned it would not eliminate that, then they would have to befriend people. And they would be able to scam people.

Anyway if your answer is getting keys to sell for gold in Guild Wars, I don't see anything wrong with that. It's in-game gold for an in-game item, the only problem is that the players "selling" the keys would be able to scam other players. To counter that they could add a box where you can enter an access key and check the validity and availability of that access key in the trade window, make the player able to trade them while making it legal to trade access keys for in-game gold.

But then players will start whining about the fact that people would be able to get rich in-game buy buying access keys and selling them for in-game gold. There will also be people that think this is awesome because they are now able to buy costumes because they don't have a Visa or/Mastercard and also can't use any of the other payment methods, or just because they don't trust the in-game and/or NCsoft store.

Can't make everyone happy right? -- Qaletaqa Hania 19:07, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

No, I mean something like getting someone to gift you a key for any content, and after getting it, sell it on eBay or something like that. That should not happen, gifted keys should not be seen until after they have been added o the account. MithTalk 14:40, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

From the Guru Windersday Art Contest hosted by Tzu...'The Grentch Steals Wintersday Award is given to the artist who's piece is connected to Wintersday, but bows in favour of Grenth, not Dwayna. Creepy, grentchy and "bah, humbug!" entries apply for this.

The Grentch Steals Wintersday - [COSTUME CODE (Grenth's Regalia)] (donor: Inde & Arenanet)' So..the Wintersday Workshop on guru can give Costume codes as prizes but the rest of us cant for our personal events?.Im sorry im not trying to be rude but I think thats just a little bit unfair..I think that giving a costume code away for a prize for a guild event is something nice and a little bit different. I think it would be a nice idea too for the rest of us to be able to. I know it says it is donated by Arena Net but still..Even if we cant 'gift' players with things right now I think it would be a good idea to add an option of weither or not you want to attach it to the account right when you buy it or at a later time. When you buy the costumes they send you the code in an email anyway even though its already attached. So why not buy it..say you dont want it attached and then be able to give the code as a prize then instead. And dont let the Already Purchased thing come up until a code has actually been atached to the account.Then again..second thought people could try sell them for in game gold which would be bad. --Lorenna 20:28, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

I understand your thoughts, Lorenna, and as I've said many times, I'm a major fan of the idea of "gifting" in Guild Wars. However, as you suggested, there is a risk of money getting tied with in-game item and gold sales, even here. So the concept needs to be carefully designed to address those possibilities. Thanks for understanding. -- Gaile 19:43, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

security as marketing instrument

Hi Gaile, Maybe you heard about Funcom deleting characters below level 20 when they have been inactive for a long time due to maintenance, or the player activates his account again including paying again. I first would like to hear if we could expect such marketing strategy for GW or in the future GW2. Personel i'm not really fond of this strategy. But this is not the subject I would like to inform you about. When i signed in my account at funcom my eye catched a logo on top of the website. McAfee Secure, tested daily. https://register.ageofconan.com/account/ you can see it you're self. Maybe something which coud made in to a marketing and competetive advantage for plaync/ArenaNet. No opinion asked though. Just something to take into consideration. Here you can see what is behind the mcafee logo when clicking on it. https://www.mcafeesecure.com/RatingVerify?ref=register.ageofconan.com. It's not THE security but it helps the trusting. Didis 18:36, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

What does that even supposedly do? I'd never pay attention to that logo if you hadn't pointed it out. And I laugh at McAfee products anyway, but that's another discussion like you said. So yeah, what does this do? Do they like try to hack the website every day and give you a green light if they can't? Rose Of Kali 19:03, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

I don't know what functionality this security system brings to a webpage or account access route, either. However, it's a good question and I will inquire about it and see if we have any info to share on that. -- Gaile 20:09, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

GW2 feedback

Hi Gaile,

I've been reading the various GW2 articles on the GW2 website and I've had some thoughts (both good and bad) and concerns (generally bad, but I suppose that's par for the course) about some of the things I've read. I was wondering if you could suggest to me a place where I could post said feedback (I figure that's easier than tracking down someone on vent). Thanks! -- Armond Warblade{{Bacon}} 03:29, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Seriously? 0/10. elix Omni 04:24, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, Felix, but I kinda meant a place where feedback had a chance to be noticed - like someone's talk page. -- Armond Warblade{{Bacon}} 05:21, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Legality issues, doesn't exist. You know this. elix Omni 05:37, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

All GW sites have a chance to be noticed. 0% is a chance, after all. Just remember that 'suggestions' are not the same as 'requests'. MithTalk 12:06, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Unless you get hired by Anet to be part of the design process, everyone gets should get an equal voice, no matter the fan site. --Lania Elderfire 14:55, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Felix, 0/10. Morphy 10:45, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

I can't offer any additional ideas about suggestions other than those already mentioned. We have Wiki options -- please do feel free to use them. -- Gaile 04:11, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

Just Wondering

Hi Gaile im just wondering if you could find out if there are still russian preorder keys or prophecies collectors edition keys still out in the world unused, im looking to buy one badly and will pay any price, but i dont want to go searching if im wasting my time. If you could find out i will be your best friend ever please please, thanks even if you dont want to do it =) -- Mini Lich

No way she's going to go searching third-party providers for you, and they aren't giving out preorder keys officially anymore, obviously. --Kyoshi (Talk) 01:06, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

I think he's more asking if there were X keys produced, and Y keys redeemed, does X-Y resolve to a positive number. -- FreedomBound 01:24, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Aw dang math makes my brain hurt. The Emmisary 01:27, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

That would make more sense. --Kyoshi (Talk) 04:08, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Yeah just wondering if she has a way of saying how many there where to begin with, and how many where redeemed, its totally fine if she doesnt want to though, i know its quite a task =) -- Mini Lich

Sorry, no, I can't provide that information. It would actually take developer time to learn the details, if they were even available, and obviously it would be inappropriate to take dev time for such a matter. (Devs need to dev, after all. :) ) Good luck with your search! -- Gaile 18:53, 23 July 2010 (UTC)