User talk:Gaile Gray/Archive Product Information/Jan - Dec 2008

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Online Store Conundrum

Hi Gaile, I don't know for sure if this is the right place for this (feel free to *bonk* me if isn't) but it might warrant some attention.

Yesterday I heard the story of someone in our alliance who wanted a secondary account with a PvP Access kit - so he went to the online store to get himself said item ... only to forget that anything bought in the online store is immediately added to the account you're logged in with! Anyhow, his case got me thinking - and knowing it takes a product key to create an account (a wise move, to prevent squatter and/or nuisance accounts and to keep a clean database) I now realize I should have told him "get a buddy key somewhere and create an account with that to buy your PvP access kit" but it does pose a problem - how does one create an account out of nothing using the online store and without a conveniently available buddy key ?

Might this be a good thought to pass to the powers that be to be consumed as food for thought ? Clan Yumemiru 18:57, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

I think you can buy GW accounts through the PlayNC online store, which I'm assuming you *don't* need a GW key to get into. You might have to make up a new PlayNC account though, if you wanted it to not pop it onto your already linked account.

I've always wanted them to add the ability to buy things for other people's accounts to the online store. You could buy something for them, it stores your payment info, then the next time they log in they're asked if they want to accept it. Or something. That would sort of tie in, letting you buy things for other existing accounts or 'new account'. purple llama 20:32, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Did he just tell gaile to feel free to bonk him??? *differences in national slang FTW* -- Salome 21:14, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

LOL! I now realize how stupid it sounds! In this context, think of being hit on the head with a Clue-by-Four.

Thanks for the heads-up, Salome! (And yes, I wasn't thinking straight. Insert brain and add MORE COFFEE!!!)

Llama, I think adding a step that will let you add whatever you buy to your either current account, a new account, or another existing account would be a help - but I fear the technical effort to implement this at this state is probably more than a.net has resources for with the GW2 development on their plates. Clan Yumemiru 21:20, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

It would take effort, yes, but I sort of expect that they could use the same online store backend once GW2 comes out. Back when I was in a large guild, there were people who would actually buy new chapters for guildies who couldn't afford them. Letting them buy GW2 for their guildies/friends online might get anet a few more sales. purple llama 21:33, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Updates to the in-game store, including the ability to "gift" something to another player, is something I've asked about often. We're not there yet, but I do think we're moving in the right direction! -- Gaile 07:09, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

So we can assume this can go on the "future features" list then ? *looks hopeful* Clan Yumemiru 22:50, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Any news on BMP availability?

Gaile, is there any news from the devs if the BMP will be available to buy or something like that? Kalesija 14:41, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm thinking that if there was, Gaile would post it up immediately. The only thing we can do atm is just wait and see. -- Brains12 • Talk • 20:06, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Other limited-time offers

Question to devs: any plans on releasing them again? Like, say, pre-releases that you can get /bonus weapons with? You did it with the BMP, why not others? — Teh Uber Pwnzer 07:12, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

I think the big thing that sets this apart from other one time offers, is that it had playable content, and wasn't just all about weapons. I admit I want divine aura and others, but I know that this would be unfair to those who have aquired it already. But since BMP was basically like a mini expansion with actual playable content, this was a good idea to make it available 24/7.Ajc2123

Maybe not divine aura and/or special dances, as those were available only in collectors edition, but they could make an offer to buy F/NF/EotN pre-order items, for those, who couldn't get the pre-order when it was originally available (just like for instance, you can buy 1 Million Edition weapons in GW store, you could buy those pre-order weapons - not as all together, as one may already have Factions pre-order, but they should make the ability to buy pre-order items separately for each campaign's pre-order ... get it? ... of course, they could also make 1 package for all weapons, if someone doesn't own any of pre-orders yet) --Ш3вч [TALK] @ 15:15, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Gaile, please respond. If its just "sure I'll ask" or even "no I wont ask" it would be nice. — Teh Uber Pwnzer 04:32, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

New Campaign/Expansion?

Is A-net already busy creating a new one or will there won't come a new one? Just curious since i haven't heard anything yet. --Fox007 09:46, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

A-net is concentrating on GW2 iirc, so there won't be new GW1 campaigns. Lord of all tyria 10:49, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't rule it out, a bit further up the page Gaile said they have "more core projects in the works" and unless my jargon decryption completely fails me, this likely translates to "we're working on more things besides GW2" - I doubt future content will be as elaborate as a full campaign (additionally, a new campaign pretty much means new professions which means a whole slew of new skills which can (and will) cause all kinds of new balance/implementation issues) but perhaps there might be more (mini) expansions in GW1's future (more on the scale of the Sorrow's Furnace mini-expansion, I'd presume than on the rather grand scale of Eye of the North).

Notice this is pure speculation so please don't get all excited until it's officially confirmed. Clan Yumemiru 13:00, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

What about Guild Wars:Winds of West, expansion on NF. hahaha. Renin 15:09, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Well i we are speculating here let me say i wish they did a expansion for Cantha i realy enjoyed playing there. Call it something like GW Dragons of the South or something like that. Story line something thats has to do with the rising of the dragons in GW2.

Or when talking about a complete new campaign give us GW Utopia i realy like the asura thingy. Cult Mephisto

Well does sound great about the expasions about the dragons but there are at least 3 dragons which are hibernating in Eye of the North. Ofcourse A-net team got a huge imaginations and probebly solve this little isue :). And a new campaign means that they have to chance the title's again and on one hand player's don't because they got another campaign to play but on ther other hand they will be losing there Legendary title's were they have been working so hard on. --Fox007 17:29, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Well if they did a new campaign so be it sure i lose my legendary titles if they give some nice content for it ill be happy to lose my legendary titles for it i realy will not lose any sleep about it when in lose my legendary cartographer title i be happy to max it out again and it is a nice boost for the Favor system there will be a time nobody will max titles course they did it all.

In the end people with legendary titles will have more effort in it course they need to do it again course there was a new campaign. Cult Mephisto

Nobody "lost" their Legendary titles over Eye of the North either, so please, do not start with fearing for your titles, start speculating what could happen, what might come our way - and then be (hopefully pleasantly) surprised what turns up.

I think it's safe to say "Cantha is dead" given The Movement of the World but I wonder about the many verdant swathes of land north of Kryta and the Maguuma Jungle, what might lurk there that needs heroes to deal with ... Clan Yumemiru 18:15, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Well CY your right about titles and stuff so what i said before some of us will not care if we lose some of our titles. If we get some nice content it will be worth it, but Cantha i read it before The Movement of the Worldi realy hope they will do something with Cantha why discard it, it still can have potential. But im afraid it's realy dead. And by north of Maguuma and Kryta you mean that large unused space of GW:EN. ??????? Cult Mephisto

The way i see it, the Movement of the world article gives Anet a time delay on Cantha, which means that it wont be released at the start, the way i have read into it, Cantha needs to sort it self out, but when it does its going to be really cool, cooler then say GW:Factions Cantha. 210.185.92.41 02:42, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

The way I interpreted it is that Cantha isn't dead in the slightest. They just have absolutely no way to communicate with the rest of the world, nor do they care. The emperor unified the nation and then isolated them from the other nations. But the wording does kind of open it to interpretation. (InvdrFlame 03:22, 14 January 2008 (UTC))

I do think that they will do something with Palawa Joko and the trip to Elona and how to get to cantha keeps being a question and is impossible with the information we currently got --Fox007 16:10, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm sure we'll have to fight our way there. Perhaps on boats. That'd be really cool, a mission where we have to defend our ship against invading zombie pirates. Alaris 17:16, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes which are leaded By Fendi Nin And his spooky ship which are both under control of the dragon which resides in Orr --Fox007 17:22, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Fendi Nin? Shoot me now. xD -- Elv 17:41, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Pang jij dood :) --Fox007 18:00, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Captain Barbossa and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl!! Wait...I think that's been done before, but I don't quite recall where...(InvdrFlame 19:44, 15 January 2008 (UTC))

Well how cares they got the beast of Argghhh of Monty Pyton they have a charr which speaks as Jack Sparrow so why shouldn't there come The Black Pearl :) --Fox007 13:14, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Oh and don't forget Arachni's Haunt Dungeon which got in someway a connection to the Films Aliens. --Fox007 17:57, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

When will we know when we know?

I am sure A.Net/NCSoft marketing is running a very tight ship for GW2 marketing... figuring out who gets interviews, release information, exclusive looks, etc. I am "happy" with this, as marketing people believe they know what they are doing ("Let's get our finger on that pulse, men."). I was wondering for the rabid of us, could you let us know when to look for more GW2 information? Like "guys, you might get a bone earlier, but something is in the works for March... you will be pleased then." rather than ::crickets:: Thanks for considering. --Ravious 02:07, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I understand. I asked at a meeting lately, putting it like this: "I know we can't talk about Guild Wars 2 yet, but can be talk about when we may be able to talk about it? Or how's this? We talk about when we'll be able to talk about talking about it?" I'm rather surprised I wasn't tossed outta the meeting on my ear. ;) Anyway, the answer was that we really don't have anything to say just now. Even if the saying is only when we'll be saying we're going to say something. :D -- Gaile 06:25, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Also just to let you know Gaile, theirs alot of PC Games mags and the like which are now touting the release of GW2 as being in winter 2008. From what I've read here, anet has never stated this and additionally it seems somewhat unlikely due to the beta only taking place in mid 08 or later. So just telling you to let you know, that alot of mags over here are giving bogus info about GW2. Although added to that alot of mags are getting the plot details compleatly muddled too. -- Salome 10:33, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Magazine and/or distributor release speculations are notoriously unreliable and almost always based on their wishful thinking rather than supplied information. Not entirely unlike this to be honest. Take it with a pinch of salt. The size of Tyria. Clan Yumemiru 10:38, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Gaile! That's too bad, such... potential to look forward to. I appreciate you asking and the quick response! --Ravious 13:00, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Bring Taiwan account to American GW2?

Hi Gaile, I'm a Hong Kong player who migrated to US one year before. I carried my GW account with me to US. There's always a problem for me. It was really hard get new extension cause I have to find someone back in Hong Kong to buy me the new chapters. I got my NF and EoTN from friends in Hong Kong. It isn't a big problem since there is no new chapter releasing for GW1. However, I don't want to bring this problem to GW2. The easiest solution may be to buy a American GW2. However, I'm afraid that I'm lost all my progress in GW1. So, is it any possible way to keep my progress in GW1 and I can also buy GW2 package in American? Thank you if you have any solution to this:) and sorry for my grammar. --Afya 23:52, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Uhm - but .... couldn't you just have bought the US release versions and added them to your existing account ?? As far as I understand, the versions are the same worldwide, just the localization (ie, display language et al) is dependent on user settings ... I don't believe there's a separate product line for any territory. Clan Yumemiru 22:07, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

I think there is difference between the GW product in America & Hong Kong since players are assigned to different districts according to their product key. If it is possible to add an American NF/EoTN into a Taiwan based account, I will hit my head towards the wall because I did such a silly thing>< --Afya 23:52, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) I will try to find out the answer to this question. I believe that you can add a US product key to a Taiwanese account, so you would therefore be able to tie your GW account to your GW2 account. However, I need to verify that and get back to you. -- Gaile 20:37, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

I spoke with Lead Designer James Phinney about your questions, Afya, and although the mechanics of the Hall of Monuments are not yet fully coded (it's early yet), we are very proud of the fact that Guild Wars is a global game with players from around the world. There are probably other situations like yours, where a player changes physical address from territory to territory. We will make every effort to accommodate such situations, because we recognize that a player may have a desire to "bridge" attainments in Guild Wars through the Hall of Monuments into a copy of Guild Wars 2 purchased and played in a different territory. -- Gaile 19:34, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Territory Reset Discussion

Isnt where you are sent to picked when you first join Guildwars? i dont know i havent done it for almost 3 years now lol 124.176.95.130 07:42, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

As far as I understand, you pick your territory when you create your account, then your account lives there; where you buy your product is then irrelevant ... Clan Yumemiru 08:33, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

When I created my accounts I was automatically put into eu, despite living nowhere near there! The game copies were all eu versions though. :P Since then I've switched to American territory and used all eu or in game store upgrades. - BeX 09:03, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I used to be in EU by default, but moved to American servers for a while because my guild of the time was there. Then they changed how districts worked, and now I can't switch back to EU as my default. I still load into American districts when I start my game, which is rather irritating because it lags my game like crazy and I've no way of making my game European anymore. I guess I can still hope that they'll add a 'set default district' option after 2+ years... Anyway, the districts and servers system is a bit of a mess if you ask me. xD -- Elv 10:49, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Doesn't switching your territory change that? It did for me. - BeX 10:51, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

There isn't a Switch Territory option anymore in the Edit Account screen, that's what I meant. Barring the possibility that they relocated that option, it simply doesn't exist anymore. :( -- Elv 11:30, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

That's correct - the option doesn't exist anymore. The separate territories have been fused together into one big happy worldwide system with just separate district zones.

Elv, have you tried swapping to your preferred game zone (Europe in your case) and logging out ? As far as I understand, that should tell the game you want to play in the EU zone by default. Clan Yumemiru 12:58, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Numerous times. It still resets every time I restart my client, though. :( -- Elv 13:26, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Put this in a *.reg file and add it to the registry

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ArenaNet\Guild Wars]

"Territory"=dword:00000002

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ArenaNet\Guild Wars]

"Territory"=dword:00000002--Pablo24 18:10, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Actually, unless you know what you're doing, I would advise against touching your registry. One mistake and you could seriously mess up Windows. Even if you know what you are doing, making a backup is a good idea before touching anything in the registry. Also, advising people to play with the registry without any type of warning is very irresponsible, imo. Kokuou 20:35, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I think I'd rather just wait for ANet to implement some sort of fix, I'm sure it wouldn't be THAT hard for them. It would come down to something like a simple dropdown in the options menu, much like a number of small toggles and such that were recently added. And I agree, unless you know what you're doing to a tee, don't touch the registry. -- Elv 22:32, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

You can't really do anything wrong if you just copy-paste this and add it to the registry imo, and how would they fix something that's not a bug? You are intended to set your default territory in the registry, as simple as that. It's a feature. Why do you post here just to flame people who actually try to help with a concrete idea?--81.51.23.166 23:07, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Excuse me? Flame? Did I personally attack you and call you names? No. I'm sorry for not liking your suggestion, but that's the way things are. The fact that I said so- the fact that I disagreed with you and politely phrased this- has absolutely no likeness to any sort of flaming at all. I suggest you go look up what the term actually means before you throw it around. I don't like messing with my registry, full stop. I don't think that's how the devs expect us to fix problems either, and that's why I post here. I comment, I try to help, I act on help offered where I think it is wise to do so in the manner suggested. Just because I don't do as you tell me to does not mean I'm flaming you. -- Elv 23:25, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I was referring to Kokuou--81.51.23.166 23:32, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Kokuou wasn't exactly flaming either. Once again, it was an opinion, and if you ask me a very valid point to make. There were no personal attacks or insults flying about. I really suggest you think a little more about what you say before throwing accusations about. That aside, when posting on a page like this, it helps to add names if you wish to address someone specifically. If you don't and simply post below someone else, you leave the suggestion that you're addressing the person directly above you. -- Elv 23:35, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Elv. I was simply stating that it's irresponsible because if you look at any instructions on the internet that tell you to touch the registry, there is always a very prominent warning that modifying the registry can potentially harm Windows (and sometimes to the point where it won't work). I wasn't saying that Pablo was irresponsible, simply that his action of suggesting registry modifications (something which I'm sure ANet would advise against) was irresponsible. Kokuou 01:05, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) First, I recommend you not edit your registry. There is absolutely no need. We can fix a bug, if there is a bug, but editing the registry shouldn't make a bit of difference once one logs into the game, where one's preferences would override a registry entry. And as others have pointed out, editing a registry is not something to be undertaken casually, lightly, or without fully understanding and accepting possible negative consequences.

Secondly, Elv -- please log into an outpost in your preferred (EU) district. Wait for a few minutes. Log out. We want to know what happens with a straight enter/exit process not involving missions, quests, or PvP maps. Thanks. -- Gaile 01:47, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

I usually park my characters in the Guild Hall after playing. The reset seems to occur every time I start playing a character and exit the Guild Hall for the first time. Having seen that just now as I tested what you suggested, I left my character in the outpost and restarted my client. A few more tests on other characters later (restarting my client after every step) I think I can say that for now at least the problem is solved. The Guild Hall does seem to affect the default district somehow, though, even after a playing session of several hours on the European servers. I'll be keeping an eye on what happens for the next week or so, to make sure that the problem really is solved. In the meantime... thanks for your help. :) -- Elv 09:53, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Just got on and logged on to play. Once again, as soon as I left the Guild Hall I was back in America. I'm going to gather all my data and write a very long support ticket, I think. -- Elv 19:35, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

I've run into this problem before. I have an American account, but I've been playing in the International districts. Occasionally I'd find myself logged into the American districts, without ever having selected them myself. I was pretty sure that it had something to do with my guild hall being originally created in the American districts, and when I entered it and left it'd reset me to American. But I just tested switching around and logging in and out, and no matter what I did I stayed in the International districts.

So either an update within the last two days fixed the problem, or I'm missing the actual cause. Maybe it takes multiple people in the guild hall to trigger it? -- Mortimer 20:24, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

The Guild Hall I'm in was made in European Districts, and I've had the issue with and without the presence of others. I still had it yesterday, so for me at least it's not been fixed. I haven't logged on yet today. -- Elv 09:00, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah, there's the crux of the matter. Please log out in a 'static' outpost (like a PvE town/outpost) and try from there. There's something not quite right about Guild Halls (which I'm surmising may be the likely source of several rather annoying bugs in the past, such as the outpost warp "exploit" that went ion a while ago).

The reason is that a Guild Hall is apparently not a "true" location (it doesn't always count as "last visited location" - which also causes people to get bumped from their halls to either the Temple of Balthazar or whatever place they were before they went to their Guild Hall) which, given its dynamic nature (map, NPC content, etc) isn't surprising, but it could cause some headaches. Perhaps a point of attention for a dev team member! Clan Yumemiru 23:40, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Like I said, I've tried that. It saved my EU settings for a couple of hours, but eventually they got reset to American. I've submitted an extended support ticket about this, and support is 'looking into it' now. I'm hoping for another response soon, but since it's a complicated matter it may take a while to find the issue and fix it. -- Elv 09:45, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) This topic started as a question about game access and connecting GW to GW2 that came from a Taiwanese player who moved to the US. I placed a division on this thread to isolate that issue, and I will try to get an answer to that question, as it could affect many other players. If you have an individual issue with your game account and/or territory setting, please direct your questions and concerns to Support. Alternately, please move the question/concern to the Bugs pages hosted by Mike Zadorojny . Thank you. -- Gaile 20:37, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

Bonus Mission Pack....

Well... It's January 28th.. Where's this list of places to buy it from? -- Indochine talk 18:03, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

probebly coming soon since times are different just wait a few more hours and we should be able to buy it :) --Fox007 18:04, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

It's been the 28th of January for ~11 hours (seeing as Anet is gmt-7). I think that's more than enough time, seeing as most of the game releases have been near enough at midnight. -- Brains12 • Talk • 18:08, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Chillax my peeps. It might go live at noon, which over here is in like one hour I beleive. Only start the angry mob once its 2 days late ^_^ Ajc2123

:P -- Indochine talk 19:09, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

It'll come out, I suspect, past midnight GMT, sometime late afternoon PST. Calor (t) 19:42, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Or not... Calor (t) 19:43, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

That's 15 minutes, correct?-- Brains12 • Talk • 19:44, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

13. Calor (t) 19:47, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

I Really hope so can't wait until tomorrow --Fox007 19:47, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

See? Ya just gott ahave faith in Anet. ^_^ Ajc2123

Oh, no need to wait until tomorrow, Fox! And not that I'd want to confirm a rumour or anything, but gosh, Noon seems like a good hour to me! ;) -- Gaile 19:50, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

21.00 here so less time to play. :) i really want to see those wonderfull cinematics in BMP --Fox007 19:53, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Also great for those out on the east coast (like me), as there's the whole afternoon and evening left, and school (and even work for some) is over. Calor (t) 19:54, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Charr T-shirts

Hello Gaile. This could be a bit out of the blue but... There are some black Charr tees on sale on the GW merchandise store but only available in men's sizes. I love that t-shirt design to bits so I was wondering if there are any chances of that tee being printed also in women's small sizes in the future? Just thought to ask if you had any insight on this or any new possible artist t-shirts for that matter. :) - nian 23:53, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

I believe that the shirt was a limited run, and we will not be offering it again in any sizes. I am under the impression that we may be adding other merchandise to the Guild Wars Gear Store in the next few months, but I don't have any details yet.

If it's any help, I believe that the men's sizes run on the smaller or slimmer side of things and I agree, it's a really nice looking shirt. It was designed by artist Richard Anderson, one of our long-time artists (and a really nice guy). -- Gaile 07:50, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Ohh could you please confirm whether if that t-shirt was a limited run or not? I was meaning to get one myself, it's a sweet looking one. What about profession t-shirts as well? I had my eye on that ranger one as well. Many thanks! Barinthus 09:50, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Aww bummer. :P The charr shirt really is cool indeed. Love the whole design. But even the small men's sizes are sold out. I'll be on the lookout for possible new artist series t-shirts hen. Definatelly hoping that there will be some more in the future. T-shirt rock! I'm a bit of a t-shirt nut so I guess they are to me like minipets to some. Gotta have 'em all! I've been looking at the blue monk tee aswell. That would be so neat but there are no small sizes of those available atm either. The whole profession t-shirt idea is really cool. 8) - nian 12:43, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

It would be cooler still if they removed the big guildwars logo from the chest and instead just put a wee styalised "GW" on the arm of the shirt, vieable in profile. That way more peeps would buy it, as although i love GW, i dont wanna be walking about carrying massive obvious marketing/advertising across my chest as its a major fashion don't! Subtlety FTW! -- Salome 01:49, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Looks like ranger (and monk) shirts are for the European market which is good for Nian but not for me LoL. Ah, perhaps some day... :) Barinthus 02:09, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Gaile why are the "Hooded Jumper's" only on sale to Europe? i would love to have one seeing that i live in as you know cold and wet Seattle where a T-Shirt isn't very piratical.

We have two stores: One is hosted by ArenaNet and one is hosted by NCsoft Europe. I believe that anyone can purchase from either store, as they both offer international shipping. However, we don't have cross-inventory for the items, so to get the hoodie, you would need to purchase from NCE. -- Gaile 23:04, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

will it be offerd in a American shop?

Not to my knowledge, no. -- Gaile 00:12, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh LAWD I love that shirt!!! !!! Vael Victus 03:23, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

5,000,000

Impressive. I hope my love for the game is felt! Congratulations! Please extend this to everyone, especially the players. We made this happen as well! w00t! Renin 17:14, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

What? — ( ɔ \ ʇ ) uɐɥʇıǝɹ 17:33, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Congratzzz to the entire Arenanet team! It gives me a lot of pleasure to see that so many people love the game you guys created! Way to go! I hope you guys will open up a nice bottle of champagne ^^ Keep up the good work!!! -- (Tribina / talk) 17:41, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

http://www.guildwars.com/events/press/releases/pressrelease-2008-02-26.php -- Brains12 \ Talk 17:41, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Congratulations at reaching 5 million! -- Mepp 17:52, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Found, and congratulations! — ( ɔ \ ʇ ) uɐɥʇıǝɹ 18:02, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Awesome! Congratulations. :) - nian 18:10, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Again, congratulations A.net! I am glad to be 4 of those 5 million, and responsible for many more. I am sure we all hope for GW2 to be just as successful! Marin Alacet 18:57, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

4+BMP here! Congrats, and many more to come! (perhaps 2 copies of GW2 if my daughter gets into this enough). -- Alaris 19:12, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Grats anet. RT | Talk 19:23, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Even if lot of players got several accounts it is still a remarquable number. Good job. Yseron - 90.15.179.209 19:51, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Great job :) All 4, BMP, and GW2 when it comes here. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how our progress compares to other games, statistcially? Calor 20:04, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

No idea... but considering that we're only second to WoW (afaik, and popularity-wise), and it took them over 6 games to get there (all previous Warcraft titles, plus anything Blizzard has made contributing to their reputation), progress is fast! -- Alaris 20:46, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Congratz, now you have about as many players as there is people in my country Kemal 20:50, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Boxes sold != Players. Divide that number by about three and you have about how many players there are. People own multiple boxes, and some people share the same account. Calor 22:24, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Congrats A.net! I am one of the very happy 5 million users. ^^ Keep it up! 68.151.27.108 23:34, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Grats Arenanet. --Life Infusion «T» 00:54, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) *sniff* I love you guys. -- Gaile 01:41, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Wow, congrats! This calls for some , , and . – Barinthus 02:01, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

A bold figure this is true, a boost to that number was Anet's non-subscription policy which is probably giving WoW a run for its money, a bold tactic and it is nice to see such forward thinking on Anet's side coming through. Though, as Calor has said this is not an accurate number when it comes to determining players. Gaile just a question, does this figure include the Bonus Mission Pack, character slots and skill packs and other products available for consumer purchase or is this just the four main products? Most impressive none-the-less. House Of Furyan 03:02, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

From the press release, it looks like it just counts the actual retail products, and not what's exclusive to the in-game store.--Pyron Sy 03:05, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

*pops open a bottle of Champagne* Lets Party!!!!!!! *turns up dance music* --Shadowphoenix 03:07, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

So, a minimum of 1.25 million players. Lord Belar 03:08, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Crap forgot to add dance music here it is! --Shadowphoenix 03:10, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

1.25 mil- those with more than one account - those that no longer play + those with less than the 4 games.--Ryudo 03:12, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, well its nice to know there are, at least, 1.25million users online (this if every player has all four main products and only one copy of each - some I know have multiple copies of each campaign). World of Warcraft boosts 10 million subscribers (please note the word subscribers not units sold) but this has a larger history (with other products prior) so to see a 'new game' hit such a high number is great to see. If Guild Wars 2 succeeds at building upon the 'success' (yes, I give praise) of Guild Wars I wouldn't doubt that in a few years we'll have double the users around us as we do now. You guys are too fast for me but saying my 2 cents :PHouse Of Furyan 03:15, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

5mil! GG A-net! Take that WoW! We r gonna get u mwahahahahaha! Dark Morphon(contribs) 17:11, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Ok - your not getting it, here are some points:

1. Chasing WoW at this stage is suicide - if a game goes after the biggest guy - it's not going to have the features and will fail. I don't think Anet is running charts on how they are beating WoW.
2. GW seems second - but most MMOs don't release subscriber numbers - we don't know.
3. Remember it is boxes sold - not subs. Anet also has a different operating cost to WoW, in theory a game with 20,000 subs could be beating WoW if they have small production costs and WoW has large ones. As ArenaNet are making a game at the moment - it is probably running at a high operating cost at the moment.
4. Many people only have 1 of the games - for a guess on how many accounts there are (not counting accounts that are banned permanently) - I would guess 2-3 million players perhaps edging to the 3.5 million mark.
5. It's still a lot of people - even if it's not 10 million - even 2 million is a whole load, imagine 2 million people packed into a room. The population of Jamaica is only 2.7 million... (source) RT | Talk 20:31, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

I think you're being optimistic about actual users, 2-3 million seems overly optimistic given there are many, many users have all or multiple campaigns per account and the expansion, and there are also many who have multiple 'accounts'. I personally know of at least six individuals who have 2 accounts and multiple campaigns and there's something like 25-30 units right there.

Don't take my take on this as trying to diminish Anet's success, as I'm not, but its unwise to let people think, as have even been posted on this discussion, that sales numbers equals user numbers or even come close to each other. House Of Furyan 21:47, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

I know many people with only 1 game though - I think it balances out somewhat RT | Talk 21:51, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Congrats Gaile, Guild Wars Support Team, and Guild Wars ^^ you guys r awesome =D!!!!! TitanSacranus 22:40, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Congrats ANet team on making such an amazing game with more than 5 Million copies sold. Good Job ANet :) -- Natalie Black 02:52, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Actually, that's not very impressive at all. I've played Guild Wars for almost three years now, and I can tell you that as a dedicated player who has played more than six thousand hours and given ArenaNet more money than I ever should have for a half-dozen accounts, extra character slots, and all the expansions, that the game isn't what it once was. Anyone who bought an account and actually enjoyed the game enough to want to be competitive in it, got the initial account and then all three expansions. That means that those five million copies most likely went to about one and a half mission players. They aren't saying five million accounts, because they've never had that many, just five million copies of the game, counting any of the expansions sold. Most of the expansions, while labeled as stand-alone, are not actually so because of the lack of core-skills, and that makes many professions unplayable unless you own all the campaigns (like how everyone will tell you that to play a Necro you must have Signet of Lost Souls for energy managment, but it's not a core skill and there are no core skills for energy managment for a Necro).

So, assuming they had a million and a half players make an account (likely less because I know a lot of folks like myself who have quite a few accounts because it took them a very log time to add the ability to buy extra slots, and you had no way to make a character from each profession unless you bought extra accounts, and given how limited the storage is you end up needing more accounts or character slots to hold everything. I ended up with six accounts myself) they don't have anywhere near that number still playing. Personally I know more than a dozen people who quit, many after just the first campaign, others after the disaster that was the last expansion. They are lucky to have a few hundred thousand players on even during the holiday events, and they have refused durring more than one interview to actually admit how many active players they have because they are embarrassed by how low the numbers actually are.

So while five million copies might sound good, for less than two mission accounts and far far less than a million active players, Guild Wars isn't as grand as they want to make it out to be. Now that they have begun work on GW2 and for the most part stopped supporting GW1 (using having to work on GW2 as an excuse for why they can't fix anything), this is only further degrading as more and more players leave. Innocent Depravity 03:16, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

GW and GW2 never poised itself as a WoW beater, it serves as a great alternative to those who just does not have much income. Yes it's true that I doubt they do have that much active players but you have to give it to them, BUT for a little game that could, it HAS indeed come so far. There have been multiple MMOs games that recently has said their goodbyes and while Guild Wars is never what it once was, it's still making money. Despite all of that, they're still here making us who are sticking with the game are extremely happy, without troubling our pockets. For that 5,000,000 IS something. Renin 07:10, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) yes, 5,000,000 games sold really is something. If you have doubt, please consider [this page] and notice how remarkable history shows it to be. Nuff said. ;) -- Gaile 07:27, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

First off, I really don't appreciate it when others move around the location of my post and reformat/re-paragraph it because they don't like the way I did it. It's rude, arrogant, and if I'm not mistaken it's against the rules to make needless changes to someone else's post for no other reason than they felt like it. Yes?

Well Gaile, that is a little better that some other games, sure, but that's still a flawed comparison because in some cases it's listing the number of players and in others the number of copies of the game sold, and still others with more than one version of the game are being counted and lumped together. If you truly want to impress people, and if the game still can do so, then post the actual numbers for how many users have logged in and played in the last month, the last six months, and the last year. How many users were online at once during the highest peak in the last year, and when was that? Those are the hard and true facts that can impress.  :) Innocent Depravity 20:48, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Dude. The fact that GW + expansions draws about even with D2 + expansions is extremely impressive. Here's to an even better result for GW2! (A difficult feat to accomplish for sequels, naturally, but not unprecedented.) -- Sirius 11:17, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Five million, that's close to the amount of people living in my country. :P Gogo Anet~! - nian 21:38, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Impressive indeed, but I do wonder why Anet pretty much refuses to release the number of "active" players. Dont get me wrong, I love guild wars, but I know more people that have quit it than people that still play it (in real life.) Im sure ive asked several times what the number of active players(people that have logged in at least once in the past 3 months) was, and every time, whether it was asked in game or on wiki, my question was always passed over...

I saw an estimate on one good gaming site once that estimated GW active player base at 1-1.5 million, as of last fall.--Ryudo 22:00, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

In pure business sense, 5,000,000 copies IS worth more than active players and this being a pay-once-free-forever type of game which MAY be compared to those console RPGs like the Final Fantasy series, albeit that Guild Wars is a multiplayer game. Looking at the sales of the ever popular Final Fantasy series, I am more than surprised and elated that Guild Wars has achieved much. IF this games was a subscription based very much like WoW, then number of active players IS important as Innocent Depravity so vehemently wants to know and belittles the 5,000,000 mark. So to compare actual game sales to active players is a really flawed way of going about it. Renin 05:25, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

5 million sales of a 4 part MMO series is as impressive or un-impressive as you want to take it, but you can't compare Guild Wars to anything bar MMOs that follow the same business model because it doesn't work when comparing, especially to a heavily popular long running series such as Final Fantasy - unless the reference is to Final Fantasy 11 the only MMO of the series thus far. Player level are relevant as this is where Anet gets most of its sales from. It can be argued that Anet is more likely to get pre-existing consumers to fork out for the next one in the series than they are to get fresh faces to be one then the next. Active players also are important when thinking in terms of Guild Wars 2. Its now Anet treats these players in this in between time that will impact their initial sales for Guild Wars 2, either for good or bad. Also, its difficulty in comparing it to WoW, to whom figuratively (or literally) knocks Guild Wars out of the water ten times over (as with product sales and subscribers) as WoW is a subscription service where Guild Wars is not (which is probably a strong, maybe the strongest factor that has allowed it to get where it is today). Its will also be interesting, given the shake up it seems Anet is putting into Guild Wars 2, whether the next series has the same, less or better success than the Guild Wars series. Its a nice number but now Anet, figuratively, has that number hanging over its head. Can it succeed with its sequel?

You might see me wrong on my post but everyone is entitled to their opinion on the issue of the sales (5 million, of course an awesome achievement by any standard), player numbers compared to sale, etc. Renin, always a pleasure reading your posts :D House Of Furyan 08:08, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Actually, after looking at that link you provided Gaile I would have to ask you to provide individual campaign (as they are standalone) and the expansion figures before I could take that list seriously as Guild Wars is compared to many one installment games which, if comparing installment to installment would still put each campaign down that list, and if comparing series to series would still do the same. I know you won't provide such a figure but still when comparing Guild Wars to other games you can't use a list like that as many of those games listed don't come with other campaigns or expansion to keep sales going that Guild Wars has needed to get its figure. It also states at the top ...

Please note that the sales figures for expansion packs are not used in calculation of the sales figure for the original game (with the exception of StarCraft and Guild Wars).

That list I think was a poor example to try and prove a point as its neither official nor is it heavily accurate, especially given that MMO games are being compared to standard PC games which also have their figures lowered by P2P networks. Also, it a wiki site for crying out loud and some of those products have their figures referenced from 2003. For example in New Zealand Warcraft 3, its expansion and a boxed set of the two are still being sold so that figure can be considered out-dated and wrong. Not to sound like a smuck but that was a poor choice, Gaile, especially from someone in your position within this community. House Of Furyan 08:51, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I only compared the Final Fantasy series with Guild Wars with the way they're being marketed. They basically follow the same idea; and if we're to really compare, I'd go for FF7 and it's many spin-offs as counter parts of Guild War's Faction, Nightfall and Eye of the North where they are both only sold to the player once, and that you're buying it for the name, what friends said, past/present experience with the product, and that we're not obligated to play it on a daily/weekly/monthly basis as compared to subscription based games.

I do know that active players are definitely important but just like console RPG series, there's not much out there waiting for us out there until the release of new game. All we ever had during the wait were in-between games that were of similar genre and like what we're experiencing now; are just ants in our pants for excitement for any new Guild Wars information, much like how other Final Fantasy geeks out there clamor for every tiny morsel of information. For those reasons, I have compared them so since I can never compare Guild Wars with any other subscription based game. :) Renin 19:32, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

GUILD WARS FTW :P lol need i say more???--Wild rituals 08:54, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Haha, this is serious business! - nian 10:11, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I hate to be pessimistic, but 5 million of a 4-installment game is definitely impressive, but not as impressive as it could be. Gaile, that was almost an insult to us, posting that link. Half Life may have only 4 million sold, but guild wars' 5 million / 4 installment is 1.25 million potential players. (in theory; it's been stated there was roughly 2 million people playing GW once) Honestly I think it's the lack of character building that's keeping us down. =/ I've had so many of my friends purchase the game and get to level 20 and be like, "Well, what now?" and though the story is IMO, a great one, bragging rights on the internet mean very little to me/them. Only now with EOTN are we actually getting rewarded for "grinding", and people still whine. I have absolutely no problem logging in for an hour a day, blasting heavy metal, and doing quests + killing stuff. It's how much of that I have to do that irritates me. This is coming from someone with 1,000+ hours on guild wars, mind you. Vael Victus 18:37, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, try to keep these people playing that's where i think there real succes lays keeping people stick to this game --Fox007 18:53, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, you know, I'm not sure that there's only one path to success. You see, I had long stopped playing Diablo before Diablo II came out. I took breaks between Warcraft I, II, and III, and yet played all of those. Same for the Civilization games, Railroad Tycoon, SimCity, Populous, Caesar, Monkey Island, and a million other game series. I think most players do play other games between the release cycles of their favourite titles. It's ok to take a break, and for some players, that's the right thing to do. So I would argue that it's not imperative to keep every single Guild Wars player playing, or playing every day. Instead, it's imperative for us to create an excellent game that is a continuation of the wonderful traditions of Guild Wars while improving greatly upon the first franchise. In that sense, even if someone is not currently playing Guild Wars, he or she will want to play Guild Wars 2. Players may continue playing, or may rejoin the family. Both are perfectly ok! -- Gaile 19:04, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) We released some good, solid figures. I linked to an interesting and well-researched wiki reference on our wiki. You are free to disregard those, if you wish. But please let's keep a positive voice in this thread. That is not asking too much, honestly.

We have a development team working on the next game, and it's always better and more productive to work in an atmosphere of support and enthusiasm than in one of dogged negativity. Let's show the team some consideration by not dismissing their accomplishments, not engaging in petty nitpicks on the current games, and not belittling a very notable achievement in reaching this exciting milestone. For 5 Million Games Sold is a remarkable achievement, by any form of measurement. Thank you for understanding. And if you do not understand my request, thank you for your silence. ;) -- Gaile 19:04, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

A call for silence? This might seems forward of me, Gaile, but perhaps you yourself shouldn't muddy the waters of Anet's accomplishment because it doesn't need to be done, the link you provided us was not "well-researched", and you'll find there's a difference between 'nitpicking' and finding something clearly unnecessary and non-accurate. You'll actually see in that link WoW's subscriber level is compared to Guild Wars's product sales level, now, I don't know about you but that seems a flawed comparison, don't you think?) .

I am proud to be in the Guild Wars community as an active player so don't take my comments as somehow trying to belittle Anet's success or dismiss the accomplishments that team has worked hard towards. They should be proud without having everyone needing to say "Good job, keep it going!", as their sales figures speak for itself. They also need to take the good with bad.

In the end, 5 million is an impressive number for ArenaNet's first game (series). I personally look forward to seeing how well Guild Wars 2 compares given the same timeframe that Guild Wars has had. House Of Furyan 20:32, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

My call to my fellow GWW members for a positive attitude was a request, made with a smile, to ask folks to discontinue petty, would-be corrective comments. I stand by it.

The link I provided was one that is generally considered of interest in a discussion of games. Obviously, using different scales of measurement renders it less than definitive. And yes, anyone (including "someone in my position") is free to cite such a reference. It would be entirely inappropriate to be corrected, condemned, or criticized for having done so. -- Gaile 20:50, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Beta Test For Guild Wars 2

so i read the new the galie left on the top. so theres gonna be like an alpha testing (or beta testing but not for us and only the chosen people) first right? so galie, can you please take some screen shots when u play it? please? i would really want to see how it looks like now. i know its not final, but please post them up or something. thanks. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:69.153.143.198 (talk).

no info is currently known period! 68.151.27.108 03:24, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

He was just hoping for screenshots from any alpha or beta tests. But regardless, if they're not ready for any info, they're not ready to show you anything. And for beta testing, all beta test players will be under an agreement where they are not allowed to disclose any information from the beta testing during the beta testing. -- ab.er.rant 03:48, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

If beta testing is open, there can't be a non-discloser agreement. Thats for closed betas only. And we all want pictures :), the more the better...as long as there not spoilers :P 68.151.27.108 03:52, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Alpha is for the Developers only then Beta is Public then possibly there will be more testing to make sure like Halo 3 their testing went all the way up to the Epsilon testing stage. OMFG You should look at the Alpha Test Video on the Current Guild Wars if you haven't seen it. Guild Wars Alpha Video Hope GW2 isnt like this xD Anyway Gaile when will there be a Teaser be ready for us to see how the Game is going along? A teaser or Cinematic would be good. Though We haven't seen a Cinematic for a while --Mithos Agar 07:25, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Fear not, for ArenaNet isn't exactly going to forget we'd like to see their game. They'll give us screenshots as soon as they're ready to. I just wish they were. :) -- Sirius (talk) 13:04, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, you're right, Sirius, we'll be very happy to share images and info just as soon as the time is right! -- Gaile 04:22, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

A small suggestion regarding the beta test if it is infact closed. I suggest that players with over a certain rank of kind of a big deal, high rank in pvp, or over a set amount of hours on their characters be given access. Not to try and reinforce elitism in any way, but more because the people with these high ranks and standings have completed the most of the game and have learned to take advantage of many tricks, stratagems and other various key tactics that would be required to get such a high standing. Also these individuals have been able to sit hour after hour searching for any and all little piece of info to further their treks through the world of guild wars.

Sadly I know some of the people with those titles are botters but in their case you also have an advantage they've learned how to hack into the system and manipulate it to their will, so by letting them try their hand as long as you keep it on a closed system (relatively) they'll be unable to affect the backups and whatnot and you'd have a running start on how to best prepare your systems against any holes that might be present.

Hopefully this helps in a small way. 69.158.53.240 17:26, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Interesting idea. I am not sure if titles will be seen to have a relevance to the test group, but I appreciate the thought-provoking suggestion. -- Gaile 04:22, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Problem with using things like Koabd is that we're all obsessives. Got to include some normal people in the beta. Sadie2k 23:29, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Hehe, like my 100000th post against elitism, but yeah please don't do that. Yeah maybe about 10-20% of current population in GW (Complete guess btw, not actual data) have KoaBD, and I suppose those folks would be screaming for joy. But...then again, the other 90-80% of the population, which is gonna be the crowd you're (hopefully?) gonna want to sell to is gonna be kind of annoyed. -Warior kronos 23:46, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I would like to point out that there are people like me -- I have two accounts, one character of each profession, several PVP-only characters, I've done everything except GvG and that's still on my list, I still play daily, still love the game very, very much, and I don't have a single KoaBD title or higher to show for it because I intensely dislike titles and the associated grind. Not having KoaBD doesn't mean I don't love GW, and I'd hate to be automatically excluded from a beta event simply because I don't like doing the same stuff over and over again to make purple bars go up. --fraught · (talk) 14:04, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

My problem with the previous suggestion with the Kind of a Big deal titles is some players like me play in a certain part of the game where titles are limited and its near impossible to get like Kind of a Big Deal for Perma Pre Searing Players. It is unfair for a suggestion that was brought up to kill a total chance of players who PREFER to play a certain part of a game not to take part in the GW 2 beta. I suggest that we do it the old way and have it a open event then after that if Anet gets further and they want to do another Closed test to get input from players, it is then determined how much time a player has played on their account and if they reached the required hours played then they can get in on the after Closed after beta testing. Does that sound fair? --Mithos Agar 05:41, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

To me, KOABD represents how much time you're willing to spend on a game you already love. It's been said that GW2 will be quite different from GW1, and for a good reason. I'm really surprised (sorta) that the game didn't have a Z axis. That's huuuuge. Linear games, eh, I just ain't into 'em. GW1 told its story and that was cool. GW2 will be different. So what you're going to hear from the people who really like GW1 is, "why isn't it like the game I love?". Unfortunately, just in a sales point of view, the game you love won't make as much money as the game the general public loves. I remember my friend got to level 20, and just stopped doing the missions, because he didn't care about titles. He wanted power, and GW1 presenting itself as an MMO did little to push the fact it was more of an action/RPG than anything. I hope GW2 will be more of an MMO, and one that takes more skill than GW1 does now. So I don't think that inviting only those who are elite enough to get it is a good idea, but I do like the idea of a "closed" beta for them, and then an "open" beta for the public. Vael Victus 06:00, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I think it's a pretty good idea to watch the hours an account has been played to select the players for a closed bèta. It doesn't requires titles nor real 'story-progress' in the game, it's just an indicator of how much one has been playing and how much time a player is willing to spend to this game. Still I think an open bèta is necessary for the crowd, like has been proposed before. Spirit Of The Linx 14:43, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Guild Wars 2

I have some questions about the Release of GW2

• 1) If there is a "Beta client" can you download it from the Offical Guild Wars (2) site??
• 2) This might sound early but When GW2 is released can you buy it in the GW online store from the first day, kinda like GW:E(it was released a few hours before the opening.
• 3) If it is released in the online store will we be able to add a key to the beta client??

I hope this isn't to early to ask. -- The Warrior Of Timi 12:55, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Of course it's too early. When any info about the beta will be available I'm sure the Guild Wars website will have a FAQ about it. — Poki#3 14:32, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi, there. I sure understand that you're curious about the upcoming game. But as we've said many times -- through Support, Sales, Marketing, Community, Public Relations, and of course the Dev Team itself -- we're simply not in a position to talk about details related to Guild Wars 2 at this time. Truly, thanks for your interest, but we don't have anything to share just yet. And yes, I'm sure there will be a FAQ in the future. -- Gaile 19:11, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Is there a date when we can expect the FAQ?

A FAQ wouldn't be a bad idea, if only to list all the questions both Gaile and Regina are pestered with time and again. I'm sure the logs of their respective talk pages should provide enough material for a FAQ, if only to have a single official page that says "no, we don't know anything yet". ;) -- Elv 11:19, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

There is actually an unofficial FAQ, presumably written by the wiki maintainers, on the GW2 wiki here: [1] It just answers the most common questions people do know the answers to (well, there are of course many that just state "we don't know" because the question is asked so much). Nothing from ArenaNet yet, though, and I'd just advise patience on that. -- Sirius (talk) 15:06, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Paysave card

Hi Gaile, A guildie wanted to buy the bonus pack and an additional character slot. Via the plaync store only the bonus pack can be bought using a paysave card. Via the in game store paying with a paysave crad is not possible. Will there a paysave feature in the ingame store (not plaync store) soon so people who doesn't own a credit card (due to to young) are able to buy additional character slots.? As i own a credit card i bought several character slots for friends. For this friend i also wanted to do this. But for some reason i get a message that it's not possible because to many accounts are related to this credit card number. Is this due to SOX-controls? If i want to buy more additional characters slots this is not possible. Is there anyway this could be more flexible? Especially when GW2 is coming there is a risk i can't buy additional game related stuf to my master account (i think). hope of hearing of you...think this is a incident, and the right place? Didis

debit cards work on the in-game store and most ppl can have them--Sum Mesmer Guy contribs 19:06, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

uhm...forget to mention...dutch, netherlandss europe...other kind of banks...people beneath 18 cant get them i thought...which debit cards?didis

mastercard, solo... most big names--Sum Mesmer Guy contribs 20:09, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Didis. I think if you contact Support, they can clear your purchases in advance, or watch for them and make sure they are cleared right away when you make them. The problem is that stolen credit cards are sometimes used excessively and then there are big problems with that, and significant losses for the company. So the people who handle the "money stuff" have to be very careful. However, they are happy to make sure that those legitimate players such as yourself, especially those who have done so much to support our game, will be assured of having no problems if they wish to make a purchase. I will check this with my friends in Support, but I'm pretty sure that you can clear your credit card to allow for future purchases without hitting some sort of "roadblock." -- Gaile 07:12, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Oh, yes, debit cards, or "gift cards" are very useful for purchases and they are available in most countries. Not all countries, but most, and that number is growing. -- Gaile 07:13, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanx....final question...are there any plans to add "character slots" to the plaync shop website? Or is that technical not possible due to the character not logged in, causing to much organisational or technical problems? Paysave cards (as used on plaync website) are not usable on the in game store...or am i doing somthing wrong?

I think that you've got the answer correct in what you said: The setup of the character slots must be done differently that other purchases, and that is why they are not part of the straight PlayNC interface. I sure will ask if this might change in the future, though, and I'll get back to you on that. -- Gaile 02:05, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

{{ri]]At it turns out, the PlayNC and Guild Wars Teams are both looking at means to expand your options for making purchases of games and other items. If you will note, just last week, PayPal went live in the US, UK, and Germany, with other regions to be possible additions in the future. I know I breathed a sigh of relief with this roll-out, for PayPal is something I had hoped we could add -- based on player feedback -- for years! So, with that work now in place, and a possible expansion of that option, the team will be looking at other means to support your ability to make purchases of Guild Wars items of all kinds, from games to the expansion pack to character slots and the PvP Unlock Packs. -- Gaile 04:58, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

I saw a newscoverage on the eu guildwars site stating that Maestro debit cards won't be accepted till further notice due to requirement vrom Mastercard. This could cause the problem of not be able to buy character slots for friends with my credit card....I appreciate to be informed if this problem will be solved in the future and that in GW2 the payment feature will be implemented with the knowlegde of the payment possibility requests en problems in mind... And of coarse thanx for the information on the eu news page...very appreciated. Didis 11:58, 1 august 2008

one year of eye of the north

do you know is there is going to be a event marking one year of eye of the north, because i was thinking of doing a event but the is no point if i do one and there going to be one done by A-net so if you couild tell the that will really help. --Thedreadlordpie 15:22, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Hi, there. I have not personally heard of our holding an event on the one-year anniversary of Guild Wars: Eye of the North. While I'm sure we'd give notice of such an event via the website, you may wish to check with a community team member to see if there's any advance info they can provide. Best of luck with your event! -- Gaile 18:04, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Will the BMP ever be sold in stores?

I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but, I'm not 18 so I cannot get a credit card, so I was wondering if ANet had any plans to release the Bonus Mission Pack in stores. I own all the games and really want the BMP....It's really annoying, since I've beaten pretty much 90% of the games content, but I'm getting quite bored, but can't buy it via online store. :\ P.S. Do you think they might sell extra character slots in stores? Oh, sometimes I think it's OK to dream. =D ~ Jack Rex 00:44, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Why not just get a Visa gift card or something? You can pick them up at most drugs stores or even some banks. Thats what I do when I want to make an online purchase. I hit Walmart and grab one close to amount I plan to use. --Dunyas 03:31, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

They tend to fail the security check. Though support can help. Being in stores is just easier, no hassle. Dominator Matrix 03:37, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Stores are a lot easier...I thought they ID'd you if you bought a Visa gift card? Hmm, I might check them out. Thanks! ~.^ ~ Jack Rex 05:22, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Guild

Should we add more features to Guild Wars 1's Guilds and Guild Halls? I mean, when I look at WoW's(no, i am not a wow fan and i am only here to talk about guild), They have it all organized and stuff. They got a lot more features. I'm just wondering, does Anet or NC have any plans for cahnging the guild system or guild hall NPCs (some useful NPC in guildhall would be a guild bank or something. This is only an example. If they dont have any plans, can you consider having one please?

I think any plans to add anything like that would be set for GW2 but dont take my word for it lol Sweet Escape 20:34, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I just didn't see this earlier. :-/ I think that you can expect a more robust guild system in Guild Wars 2. We're not talking about details now, as you know, but there are a lot of great plans for GW2 and I am sure that guilds and guild support will definitely get a good look. -- Gaile 02:41, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Other operating systems?

Hi Gaile, I was wondering if there is any discussion about whether Guild Wars 2 will be available for Mac and/or Linux? If so, it would be wonderful since I'm having to play GW via Crossover Games on my MacBook Pro. It's not bad, but the limitations of crossovers means I can't run it at full settings, as it should be :(, and there are some glitches sometimes which can be slightly annoying.

Anyway, I'm aware that porting a game to another operating system can be a lengthy (and often costly) process so, if there are no plans to do so, I would like to ask for a simple request:

Would the game developers be willing to give it a run through crossovers/wine, or even see if it would work with cider before the release and check to see if it works? I'm really looking forward to Guild Wars 2 and I'd love for it to someday be sat on my Dock alongside Guild Wars.

P.S. Sorry if this has been discussed before.

Thanks, Seikon 23:44, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not an ArenaNet employee, but I remember seeing someone say that there won't be any Linux or Mac versions. GW is developed around DirectX, and that is something made by Microsoft, so unless MS decides to give switch DX over to open source (and that's won't happen in a million years) you can't play it naively. Rewriting the very core of the engine to use a totally different (and overall slower) system isn't an option even if you have 100% of your time devoted to one game. And seriously, if you're a real gamer you just HAVE to have Windows. Linux and Macs are good and all, but if you think you can seriously play games on them you're mistaken. — Poki#3 00:31, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Guild wars 2 will most likely not be coded in OpenGL (for linux/mac). It will be coded in DirectX9/10. I also wish that it be coded in a better format (like World of Warcraft), but its there choice ultimately. Dominator Matrix 00:36, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses so far, but I wasn't asking for a complete rewrite from DirectX to OpenGL. I meant more along the lines of to ask if the developers would consider talking to CodeWeavers or TransGaming and perhaps work with them to make it compatible with their technology. For example, Cider is a wrapper for .EXE files which, in theory, allows developers to easily convert their games to OS X .APP files. I was just wondering what their official word is on this, since there are a multitude of technologies which would allow a vast majority of people who don't like using Windows to play Guild Wars. And Poki, I own a 360 so for me, I have no need for Windows.

Hi, Seikon. This isn't so much an "official formal response" as a casual comment. We've been asked many times about porting our games to other operating systems, such as Mac, Linux, etc. But I know that there are some pretty powerful tools these days that put that option in the hands of the user, instead of requiring the developer to create a different version of the game for the various OS. I'm thinking Boot Camp, Wine, Crossover and Cedega, amongst many others. We may have reached the point in the evolution of computer development where a product can be produced in one OS and yet played or used in many. What are your thoughts about that possibility? -- Gaile 01:43, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the response Gaile, I am at the moment playing Guild Wars via Crossover Games and, while this does perform pretty well there are some niggling little issues I have with it. For example, on top of the Guild Wars cost there is an extra charge for the software and always the worry that an update may break compatibility and make it unplayable. Boot Camp would be a smart decision here, but in all honesty I really don't like Windows (bad experiences) and would be inconvenient in both time and disk space, especially just for one game. I do hope Guild Wars 2 will work well within Crossovers since I'm really looking forward to it, and if not, I might need to go dig out my old XP disk :) Seikon 02:14, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Very happily playing via Bootcamp (free) and XP (not free, but had a copy from an older computer lying around). 15Gb partition for Windows and it all clicks along beautifully at full settings, DirectX and all. I understand what you're saying about it being inconvenient for time/disk space, though - I use XP mostly for multiple browser checking of web development stuff so I was already going to need to have the partition in place. Lucky coincidence. - Thulsey - talk 09:24, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately you'll just have to accept the fact that if games are made, they're are being made for the best market available, in this case Windows. A gamer really can't have another operating system :( And I'm no specialist about emulation, but it's more in the hands of the creator of the emulator then the creator of the game. Any changes to the game engine at this point in time are really, really slim. PS: I don't see a connection between the 360 and Windows in terms of software :/ — Poki#3 00:21, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Divine Aura

I seem to recall at some point something being mentioned about the Divine Aura being purchaseable in the online store. Has this been shoved into that endless vortex that the devs long list of "To Do's" work from? 76.186.64.197 09:25, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

To my understanding, the response to that was that it wasn't going to happen. DA is a reward for those that bought the collector's edition, and will most likely remain so.--Pyron Sy 14:30, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Regina gave it a firm "not a chance" [Can't find the topic in the arcvhives....... — Wolf 14:47, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Gaile/Frog_Talk/20080209 This would imply that the prophecies collectors edition would be available, which would inclue the divine aura. 76.186.64.197 17:30, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

That page says "The old Collector Editions most likely will never be available again." so most likely the original Prophecies Collectors edition, including the divine aura, will not be available again.- TheRave 17:34, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Also read: The old Collector Editions most likely will never be available again. -- Wandering Traveler 17:35, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Also read: Future Collector Editions may eventually be made available through the in-game store. Of course the old ones won't be available. But buying in the online store would imply you aren't getting the physical things such as the books, team speak, or headset. That is totally different that the old collectors edition. 76.186.64.197 17:39, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

My understanding of "Future Collector Editions" is that completely different collectors editions (maybe multiple chapters collectors editions) with complete different bonus items/effects could be made available. TBH it is a bit spurious.- TheRave 17:43, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

So therefor we can all agree that there is no official word on the Divine Aura situation other than that it will not be sold as a single item ever. My assumption is that an online collectors edition will include the divine aura, otherwise it seems that it would be pointless. Your assumption is that they wouldn't make the DA available again therefor the new collectors edition would HAVE to exclue the DA. Both theories are viable and perfectly reasonable, ANET wants money, the DA would get them that. ANET also respects the fact that people got the DA with the collectors, and wouldn't want to lose its rarity. But I thought the same with the BMP originally. So if there is any word on future collectors editions having the DA, if someone could showcase some hard evidence that would be great. 76.186.64.197 18:06, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

I have been told, by the president of the company and the director of marketing, that the Divine Aura will never be sold. Not as part of a sale, not as an individual sale. The DA was a gift to those who believed in Guild Wars in the early days, and who showed their faith in ArenaNet by buying the CE.

A lot of the old "Gaile Talks" were written from someone's memory or from an interpretation of a conversation, rather than having a verifiable source such as screenshots. If there is no appended transcript, the content of the comments, and their precise context, are not clear. Perhaps someone asked about CEs and I said there would be CEs in the future, meaning that I believed that GW2 would be offered in a CE. Perhaps the question was about other versions of the existing CE, and I did not discount that possibility because after all, during a game's lifecycle, anything can happen. Games can be repackaged, new bonuses can be devised. For instance, today, there's a Trilogy Edition that was not available even last month and there are new upgrades, too.)

But the real question here is the Divine Aura, isn't it? And for that, the answer has always been "It was a limited-time release and it will not be available in the future." -- Gaile 19:06, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

That is an answer that is sad for a lot of players but a relief to me. There still gonna be some things "unique". --Silverleaf Don't assume, ask! 20:42, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

I my divine aura and i would be hurt if they reintroduced it. Thx for clarifying that they're not but shouldn't something liek that be able to go into the HoM. I mean you get a mini from the other 2 editions that can go into the HoM but nothing from the prophecies CE. — Seru Talk 18:42, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Now, if only they add something like it for GW2 collectors *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* — Wolf 18:45, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

The BMP was supposed to be unique to the people who bought $30 worth of stuff from the online store, anybody remember what happened to that?67.237.226.74 18:58, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Your are remembering incorrectly. There was never a pledge that the BMP would only be available through the pre-order purchase. It was a marketing program that allowed months of early entry, but again, at no time was it said "This is the only time and only way in which you can get the Bonus Mission Pack." On the other hand, contents in the Collector's Edition has been pledged to be unique over and over again, so let's not compare apples and oranges. :) -- Gaile 19:11, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

I'd still like to see something added to the HoM so we know it will be in GW2. — Seru Talk 19:13, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

The wording was changed in relation to the BMP due to the public outcry it recieved. Thats all companies do, change the wording to better fit the situation so they can't be at fault. The BMP was reworded and it upset alot of people. Companies are about making profits, so it seems quite dumb to not want those profits. Yes it would upset the people who have it, but things change, people get over it. In the end the profits and satisfied customers would greatly outweigh the select few with the divine aura. 76.186.64.197 21:22, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

I cannot let you post this without responding, even though I imagine you may cling to what you believe. The wording about the BMP was not altered. People had misunderstood and we explained when the question arose, but we did not change the wording or change the meaning behind the wording. -- Gaile 22:11, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Collector's Edition Upgrade?

Hi AGAIN Gaile,

Im here to ask a question. Ok basically, ive bought the standard version of every campaign. After realising the collectors editions gave updates, its annoying that i cant get them without having to buy the whole pack. Is there a way in which i can buy just the code cards for each campaign with a collectors edition? If not, would you be able to bring this idea forward? Thanks --Burning Freebies 16:07, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

If you read up a few sections you're likely to find an answer to this. Divine Aura is not going to be made available again, meaning the nightfall and factions unique dances are unlikely to be offered as well. Otherwise, you can get the minipets from Factions and Nightfall already. If you want anything else badly enough, go hunt down and buy the boxes. 75.146.48.190 16:22, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Really? Crap. --Burning Freebies 18:51, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

A All-Campaign-Collectors-Edition (without Devine Aura)...That would sell a lot of boxes. Low effort, current all-campaign box with and additional sticker, adding the Factions and Nightfall minipet and dances? --Silverleaf Don't assume, ask! 06:57, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

If everyone buys the collector's edition, will the common edition be more valuable/expensive? *grin* -- (Tribina / talk) 14:46, 25 September 2008 (UTC

Everyone wants the collectors editions for the Divine aura, and the special Nightfall/factions dances. Also for minipets. What about an all campaign upgrade code? All Proph chars get divine aura, all Factions/Nightfall chars get the dance, and your first Factions char gets the mini. I think that would really work in Anets favour. --Burning Freebies 17:57, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

They would definitely make a lot of money out of it but it would de-value all those features so much.- TheRave (talk) 18:02, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Devine Aura is allready answered by Gaile and a big-no-no and no-way, but an upgrade code for CE's that still are available is a nice idea i.m.h.o.--Silverleaf Don't assume, ask! 21:58, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Trilogy

Wondering as I haven't seen this question posted anywhere else, is the Trilogy package going to be available for digital purchase within the forseeable future? Thanks! Drago 19:03, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi Drago. I'm afraid that I do not know the answer to this question. The Support Team may get this information closer to the release of a particular item or product, but the Marketing Team would be the group that would have the longer-range info and plans. I think the best person to ask about this is Regina, as she reports to the Marketing Director and is therefore very likely to be aware of long-range product plans. I am sorry I cannot help you more directly. -- Gaile 19:58, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Just to finish up this thread, I talked to the Marketing Director and he said that the Trilogy is not planned for a digital release. -- Gaile 04:39, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Important question, I need help quick!!!

Hi Gaile! I really need your help!

I have the opportunety 2 buy a GW Prophesies Collectors Edition. I have allready all campains unlocked on my account, and I wonder this:

1. Will my old charachters, the ones I have already create, also be able to use the divene aura?

2. Will I get any new charachter slots?

Number 1 is most important...:) Im really in a hurry, soon I cant buy it anymore, but its expensive, and I want my old chars 2 use the aura... so please help!:)Megalodon 19:01, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

I know I'm not Gaile, but I can answer this :D Yes, your existing characters and any characters you make will have the divine aura. All adding a Collectors key code will do is give you the special things that come with the Collectors edition. So say you already have factions then add the factions collectors edtion you would get the special dances for the assassin and ritualist. You will not get any extra characters slots because the collectors edition didn't come with extra slots. Hope this helps : ) --BabyJ 19:39, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Megalodon. First, let me be sure to caution you that you should be very careful that the CE you are contemplating is unused and factory sealed. Many people have offered used copies for sale, and as I am sure you are aware, the transfer (giving, selling, trading, auctioning) of a used game or a used account is prohibited. Also, I've heard of at least one instance of someone getting a resealed box (the store replaced the shrink-wrap), so ask a lot of questions and deal with a reputable seller who backs the products offered to ensure you get the full, factory-sealed box with all contents. If the access key is exposed (scratched off) return the product immediately.

1. All characters -- new and old -- will acquire the Divine Aura
2. No, there are no extra character slots with the CE.

It's important to say, although probably not a major issue, that the CE key will overwrite your SE key. We've had requests in the past to extract the used SE key for use on in setting up a new, secondary account. But in fact the SE key will simply be replaced by the CE key. I hope this is helpful information. -- Gaile 19:57, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

SE key? can someone tell a poor noob what that is?;D ~Kyahaha~

Standard Edition or Special Edition maybe?. 000.00.00.00 05:47, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

SE would be standard edition, as opposed to CE for collector's edition. ¬ Wizårdbõÿ777(talk) 05:56, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Standard Edition is right. There was no Special Edition for the first campaign, although some stores advertised it, even pre-sold it (!), and quite a bit of angst was caused for many by the confusion. *remembers headache* -- Gaile 06:11, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Thx for the help everyone, you guys have been really helpfull:)Megalodon 06:30, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

That's weird, since my prophecies game was a Special Edition one, but that's because I got the game later than other people, I guess ;) Dutch Sunshine 10:07, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I'm pretty sure there was a special edition here in the UK too, since that is the one I bought. :D I think this is the box: Image:GuildWars special edition box.jpg. Biscuits 12:19, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Eventually, there was a Special Edition, yes. I should have been more clear: To my knowledge, there was no special edition for Guild Wars (the first campaign) upon its initial release. Would you folks agree? I certainly stand to be corrected if I'm mistaken about the European release in April of 2005, but I believe that it was Standard and Collector's Edition on both continents. -- Gaile 00:37, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

GW is helping goldsellers???

People get zkeys each month for predictions they make at guildwars.com. Now are there people with more accounts who get more points because they predict on more account and then trade them to there own accounts. But now they sell gw accounts for 5dollar on www.amazon.com (btw I heard about this at guildwarsguru.com so I guess a lot of people have readen it). So now people go buy those accounts to get zpoints for there accounts. Lets say you buy 940accounts then you get enough point to max ztitle in 1month for only 2400dollar. And what if people just sell the keys on ebay then you get those goldsellers they even dont need bots anymore to get the money they just buy account and predict they just get the money from anet for free. And people who farm to get money do it for nothing because other people dont farm but have 5 account were they get free gw money from anet each month. So plz plz make zkeys custumisted. Maybe only the keys from the prediction but there has to be done something about this abuse. 145.53.242.142 15:52, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I have to say thats quite an imagination you have there. First of all, in game items can not be sold on ebay, this was fixed a while back and ebay will close any sell ads you have that provide in-game items since it is against their rules to have such sell ads. And seriously, who in their right minds would buy 940 gw games just to max an in-game title? Not to mention your math is a little off for what 940 games would cost, and there is a limit of 3 that can be purchased from amazon. 940 games at $4.95 would equal $4,653. You also would need to have 940 different email accounts to set up those accounts at the tournament house to make predictions. Personally, I just cant see where the profits would be with this or even why someone would even go as far to spend that kind of money to max an in-game title. Unless your just insanely rich and can pull off getting around the limit of 3 it's just not worth it. Making zkeys customized to an account would be the worst thing that anet could possibly do at this stage in the game. And by the way, I have 5 gw accounts and I still farm, so your "people who farm to get money do it for nothing because other people don't farm but have 5 account were they get free gw money from anet each month". is flawed and very untrue.--BabyJ 18:29, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

First there are still other sites then ebay, I mean the goldsell sites. And if amazon sells them for 5dollar other stores will do the same. And if its legaal yeah maybe I go buy 10accounts. because i cant make 800k each month with only farming but he 80tournament points arent much to get. 145.53.242.142 18:45, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I'd say that it would be a lot of work to farm Zaishen Keys using the Xunlai Tournament House. Imagine going through the registration process on an email service 20 times, then registering 20 accounts for the Xunlai Tournament, then making selections 20 times... That's not to say it's not ever done at all, but I can't see it being all that common.

There is another problem with Amazon that's disappointing to see. Amazon has second-hand Guild Wars on offer with notes like, "Very good condition box contents," and occasionally some vague mentions of a used registration key. :( -- WarBlade 22:55, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Ok didnt notice that that they were second handed, dont see where they say that either on there site:S. And still if you know you get 800k or something like it with 10account by just filling in those predictions you do it if those accounts are 5dollar each. Then you predict maybe 30min and get 800k each month without farming what other people do and takes much more time to get 800k. 145.53.242.142 23:33, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

You know, there's something called auto-form. Automatically fills up electronic registration forms. Amazing, isn't it? Ever heard of macros, too? I could simply record a macro to fill up and make selections a 100, 1000 times, much less 20 times.152.226.7.213 02:33, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm well aware of the concept, yes. I'm just not sure that the Xunlai Tournament House selections (being a click and drag interface) would really lend themselves to something entirely automated, hence the reason for the last sentence in my first paragraph. -- WarBlade 03:11, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Personally I think if someone is really willing to go the the expense and trouble just to max a single in game title they need professional mental care. As for how this relates to Guild Wars assisting gold sellers, I don't get the correlation. It's not ArenaNet selling the game for $4.95 + s&h, it's Amazon.com. ArenaNet still does everything in their power to ban known RMTs as well as players that deal with them. -- Wyn 03:33, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

TBH, wyn, you only need a tutorial in programming for like, an hour to do something like macroing. Heck, it only took me 30 minutes to create a bot for infusing/spirit bonding in gvg/HA(although I don't use it, spoils all the fun, tbh). Maxing title by spending 2-3 days buying multiple accounts at really cheap prices from players beats spending 2-3 years of farming plats enough to max the title. Which of those two actually requires professional mental care, I wonder?152.226.7.213 03:40, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

@WarBlade Macros can record click'n'drag. I tested it with AutoHotKey a few days ago.152.226.7.213 03:43, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

So you are saying you'd rather spend (using the OP's 940 account figure) $4653 US + s&h to max a title, rather than just play the game? If I had 5 grand to blow it would NOT be on a video game title. As for the use of macros... well, that's the cheaters way to do anything. Note that the OP is not talking about buying accounts from other players, but buying specifically from Amazaon.com, so they are talking about spending real world money. As for selling the z-keys to RMT's if it is a pattern that ArenaNet can trace, they will lose those accounts anyway so the money they have spent is a waste. If someone has that much of a need to max the z title, then I say let them do it, it doesn't affect you or me, or any other player. I just think it's ridiculous that the OP would claim that this is ArenaNet helping goldsellers. -- Wyn 04:15, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

If you actually play the game to max out zaishen title, you NEED a doctor, tbh. Goodness how many hours you waste farming for keys. You will be surprised how many players use macros, tbh, you have no way of telling someone is using macros unless via illegal means. Pst: Banning gold sellers IS arenanet's job, and I never did say they weren't doing it. There were people QQing to gaile/regina about being banned for RMT, so definitely action has been taken.P.S I am the I.PPika Fan 08:32, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

So any more the eviscerate executioner ... uh... Zkeys helped to kill the economy ("we had an economy o_O?" -yes, at one time, it was called Prophecies) even more by suddenly creating an enormous amount of cash that didn't exist before (e.g. PvP players now rewarded with substantial PvE money; Xunlai Tourney House generating millions every month), and not providing a strong enough gold sink to safely siphon it away again (a single great item from the zchest pays for 20+ zkeys and then some; making rare skins available from zchest deprecated already sagging market value). I think that's the point here. In my opinion, people don't mind gold sellers because they are illegal, but rather because they (help to) break the economy and cheapen "achievements" for the rest of us. Vili 08:42, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Simple economics in a game like this is depreciation rules. It's all just a matter of timing, regardless of what changes are made to the game, when something is first introduces, it has maximum value because it has maximum rarity. As time goes on, and the instances of the items go up, the value goes down. Take minipets... first year minipets are virtually worthless now, second year, not much better. Third year are going down steadily. That's the way it happens as those 'rare' items become less rare. It really has very little to do with the influx of gold. If you want to talk about game changes that affected the economy, the list is practically endless, the change to favor at the same time they had a double rep pt weekend, making farming the UW a 24/7 opportunity for a year+, introducing Ursan Blessing, making DOA a two hour endeavor... the list goes on and on. -- Wyn 09:05, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

True enough, but simple depreciation rules don't explain why zkeys still have a stable value (or am I just impatient? :) ) Vili 09:07, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

They have a stable value because that's what people who wish to buy them to use for their title or on the chance to get rare items from the chest are willing to pay for them. Now if ArenaNet were to double the reward amounts for tourney predictions then the price might go down but as has been pointed out, maxing that title is still pretty out of reach. Until the demand goes down (more people max the title, or the stuff from the chest becomes less rare) the value of the keys will pretty much stay the same. -- Wyn 09:14, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Vili, the Zaishen Chest didn't suddenly create an enormous amount of cash that didn't exist before, and it isn't a gold sink either, trading with players does not add or remove currency from circulation. The Zaishen Chest only directly affects the amount of gold in circulation when vendor trash is sold to merchants. -- Gordon Ecker (talk) 09:21, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I was under the impression that Balthazar Faction suddenly having a monetary value added currency to the economy. But I could be wrong in that assumption. Vili 09:27, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Zaishen keys are likened to (very stable)ectos now, so that could be considered as currency in a sense.Pika Fan 09:33, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

You're right. I thought "cash" meant "gold" rather than also including commodities such as Zaishen Keys and Ectoplasm. Anyway, the Zaishen Chest isn't a gold or currency sink, the Zaishen Keys it removes from the economy would've been worthless if the chest didn't exist, and it also increases the amount of gold in circulation by generating vendor trash. -- Gordon Ecker (talk) 09:57, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

One could also ponder the effects it has on the Sweet Tooth, Wisdom, and Drunkard title tracks, all of which are indirectly related to the economy. Perhaps I'll be seeing "Z-Chest: The Rise and Fall of Ectoplasm" at my local bookstore soon. Vili 10:04, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Back to the topic, Anet has no control over what price the stores sell the games for. So to make an outlandish statement that Anet is helping the gold sellers is ludicrous at best. Furthermore, if a person is willing to spend 5 grand just to max out an in-game title, then they either a) need some serious mental help or b) earned every point. I would lean more toward the mental help, but thats just me. Even if a person is insanely rich I'm sure they have better things to spend 5 grand on. Now I'm sure there are quite a few people that will pick up a couple (or the max limit of 3) just to have some spare mules or tourney accounts but thats still not helping gold sellers. It's absurd to even think that Anet is helping gold sellers when they have made such a great effort to get rid of them, and IMO they have done a damn good job of it. There are, by far, a lot less if any gold sellers in the game now than a year or even two years ago. So if your only attempt is to get zkeys customized you need to come up with a different approach because the Amazon selling games cheap fails miserably.--BabyJ 13:48, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

5$ is totally worth it for 2nd account, but as it turns out... I'd have to pay 24$ on shipping and handling. It's almost cheaper to pay full price where I live. -- Alaris 15:07, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

No you can pay 5dollar + 4dollar but delivery will be 20days later if you want it now in 2-3days it costs 24dollar. But he I am not typing this to sell those games. And if they sell it for 5dollar other sites will have it aswell or stores. I mean I already found a site were they sell it for 10dollar. It costs 15dollar but you get 5dollar for free if you got a storecard. 145.53.242.142 15:53, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm in Canada, so I don't get that shipping option from amazon.com, and amazon.ca doesn't have the same price listed. Oh well... I guess I'll wait for a more local deal to get a 2nd account. -- Alaris 16:20, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Hi. I was surprised to see those prices, too, but hey, stores do crazy things during their holiday sales! :) The truth is, we don't set retail prices, and those who are authorized retailers are free to set whatever price or offer whatever bonuses they desire. I can see you are concerned about the low price impacting RMTs and the economy through the gold sales and through Zaishen Keys. Those are good points, but I think others in the thread have made some good counter-arguments to the issue.

Truth be told, we spend a ton of money getting rid of RMT activity. We would never do anything to support those companies! If we see an influx of RMT-related accounts, we'll simply take more of them out in our hourly sweeps. I haven't given an update in the last few months on our anti-RMT activities, but I can tell you that in one week the team actioned more than 400 RMT accounts, and in another week, nearly 800 were addressed. You will have noticed that botting has decreased dramatically, the in-game report system has been expanded, and I'm sure you aware when we identify a RMT or bot hot spot, we're all over it like butter on bread. :)

In short, that special pricing lasted a few days only, and if we see any problems as a result -- RMT sales, spam advertising, etc -- we're committed to dealing with it. -- Gaile 07:26, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

But it is legal to trade zkeys with your own accounts? 62.133.217.136 10:20, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

It's legal to trade anything with your own accounts, I think. Should be in the archives here somewhere.. — Why 10:30, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

If it's not botting or RMT, it's fine. You can even give stuff to people just out of kindness, ANet is happy with that. The thing is, giving something and getting nothing in return sends red flags. You might get incorrectly flagged as a bot or RMT, but then you can always submit a support ticket and get your account back. -- Alaris 14:51, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, trading Z-keys for in-game items is allowed between your own accounts and with other players, as well. Selling keys for cash or trading for non-GW items is disallowed. For example, trading someone Zaishen Keys for an access key for another game or for a shiny new car wouldn't be approved. :) -- Gaile 19:02, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

This makes me wonder... If you have an extra game key for whatever reason, and you give this to a friend who hasn't got that particular game or expansion that should, in theory, not be a problem. (If you met in person, you'd be giving them the whole box I suppose.) If the person later wants to thank you by giving you some sort of in-game item, however, that would in theory be potential RMT... right? Or does that fall into another category again? -- Elv 19:40, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

It's like asking how much do you have to spend on a date before it becomes prostitution. You know the rules, and you know when you're stretching the rules. Gifts are fine between friends. But it's not fine to pay someone to do it for you. -- Alaris 20:57, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

No, it's different. In this scenario, the person getting the gift offers to give something AFTER getting the gift, as a thank you. It's not part of the "agreement" and most people would probably decline anyway (since the gift was in fact intended as a gift), but I can see how, from ANet's perspective, an in-game gift in return two days later might still constitute some form of RMT. So I'm wondering if ANet would treat something like that as actual RMT. -- Elv 21:27, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

I appreciate that you guys don't want to be flagged and actioned as an RMT when you're just giving someone an item or muling items between accounts. Support takes those possibilities into account when flagging activity, and the incidence of someone being blocked for RMT when he is not an RMT is very, very small. Too, if they get a request to investigate, they take it seriously and do their very best to get someone who was marked in error back into the game ASAP. So sure, you want to think about what you're doing. You absolutely do not want to do disallowed activities. But I feel you should go about your gaming in a normal way without worrying about bad results and with confidence that any rare errors will be fixed right away. -- Gaile 21:33, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't have any spare access keys lying about, but the whole discussion above did make me wonder. :) -- Elv 21:45, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Access keys are a horse of a different colour. You can trade Zaishen keys, as you can trade any in-game items, for other in-game items or in-game gold. Trading or selling access keys is forbidden by the User Agreement, except for Buddy Keys, which are expressly created for that purpose. -- Gaile 22:44, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Gaile I think you may want to re word this = Trading or selling access keys is forbidden by the User Agreement, except for Buddy Keys, which are expressly created for that purpose I bolded and Italisized The parts im saying :P The New Bp

Yes, trading Z-keys for in-game items is allowed between your own accounts and with other players, as well. People with more accounts predict and trade there zkeys to one account to get rich in a fast way without having to farm. They dont give items back to there storage(zkeyfarmaccount)145.53.242.142 08:41, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes they do, and what does it matter to you? If they have legally purchased multiple accounts and wish to pool the resources of those accounts that's their business, and really doesn't affect your game play. This really creates very little fluctuation in the prices of things game wide. As the Administrator of GWGuru Auctions, I see prices day to day over the course of time. Keep in mind that the value of something is based on what people are willing to pay. The fewer people willing to pay those outrageous prices, the faster those values will drop. So I say let the 'ecto barons' spend their ectos they way they wish. If they want they can buy up ever VS or whatever they can find, but in the long run it will have been a waste if no one else is willing to pay the price, it will go down. There are very few items in this game worth more than 200k (based on how many are available gamewide) and as time goes by and more instances of them appear in the game the value goes down. I don't understand the preoccupation with pixel gold. This is a game you play for enjoyment, it does not gain you any real world wealth, just game status, and personally, I get much more enjoyment from earning or finding an item than by purchasing it. -- Wyn 11:16, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

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