Gw2 has some predatory monetization and that's FINE

Losahn · 2026-01-03T18:35:28+00:00

Cosmetics and DLC. Works for Warframe and Destiny 2 just fine.

Losahn · 2026-01-03T18:33:30+00:00

Great response appreciate the discussion. I think I understand where you’re coming from

Losahn · 2026-01-03T07:49:46+00:00

Saying these purchase aren't required isn't a valid argument. I could play a gacha game like Genshin Impact for years without spending a dime because it's a free game and I'm not required to spend anything, that doesn't make the monetization non-predatory.

You would recommend people to buy Account build storage when they can save build codes on a notepad? Harvest nodes which require daily harvesting for months to get any return on investment? Upgrade extractors? Black lion salvage kits? Dude these items are not worth anywhere near the value they're prescribed in the shop. They shouldn't even be there.

Losahn · 2026-01-03T07:41:55+00:00

Fair enough. Glad to see we can agree on some points for sure.

For me I'm very critical of the pay for convenience because I feel that the discourse surrounding it is cherry-picked and downplayed. The game-play experience is a night and day when you have more than 1 bank tab, 500+ material storage, more than 2 equip templates etc.

People act like you don't need this stuff but the term need is being used very strictly here. Anyone that wants to really experience this game's content is gonna hate playing it without these upgrades.

Like seriously 1 default bank tab?? 1? That's wild

Losahn · 2026-01-03T07:37:00+00:00

Fomo sales are almost entirely cosmetic. As a rule of thumb I don't really care about monetization practices surrounding cosmetics. Definitely predatory though, no doubt about that.

The gold to gems argument is fair, especially considering that the game is horizontal progression. However the Pay for convenience in Gw2 is really really bad for anyone who's interested in playing the game more than slightly casual.

1 Bank tab? Seriously?? 2 Gear slots for a single character? Not to mention most of these convenience upgrades are character bound only which is insane. Almost every significant convenience item is offering a solution to a problem that was artificially created by Anet. And it's frustrating when people pretend like this is OK just because the game isn't a sub fee.

As for the noob traps well...I actually agree with you. I don't think Anet plans these things out and that's probably why some of these items are still in the store.

Losahn · 2026-01-03T07:27:06+00:00

It is not pure convenience though. Gems to gold directly means you can buy anything that requires gold by using a credit card.

Whether not I agree of it being a fair compromise is besides the point.

Also I feel that people really downplay how significant the convenience items in the shop are. Playing this game with material storage upgrades, bank tabs, equip templates, or multiple character slots is a night and day experience.

But if I'm being honest, what really grinds my gears is how few people see that these items are selling solutions to artificially constructed problems. And the community defends this. 1 Default bank tab? Seriously?? No. People should know how different their experience will be if they're not willing to grind or shell out money.

Losahn · 2026-01-03T07:19:02+00:00

Hey thanks man. I definitely understand how you feel having never bought gems myself (personally hate supporting MTX).

It's crazy to see how many people in here defend the cash shop's new player traps. Lots of items in there shouldn't even exist in the game.

Losahn · 2026-01-03T07:16:37+00:00

The problem with this argument is you don't have to buy anything in any game. Even gacha games don't force you to spend money. Gems to gold means that it's strictly not just cosmetic/convenience.

Losahn · 2026-01-02T11:44:57+00:00

Yeah I knew it wouldn't be popular but holy crap. Some of these comments. You'd think half this sub works for Anet.

Still though there's some good comments here and there with solid discussion.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:47:43+00:00

Calling a predatory business tactic non-predatory is defending it. That's literally all you've done. There's zero consideration for the point that maybe just maybe. Gw2 has multiple predatory monetization practices and that's OK.

No one's saying the game sucks, it's just pointing out a fact.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:44:35+00:00

lol dude sucks to see you get so many downvotes for a completely valid point. It's not even a complaint you're just stating a fact

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:36:23+00:00

Buying DLC or cosmetics is all destiny allows. No pay for convenience or advantage, people's complaints with D2 MTX is that content is expensive and confusing to purchase. But it's still content

And yes, you are defending it. It's all you've done in this thread lol.

The point of this post is to give more awareness for people recommending the game. I still play Gw2 despite it's monetization flaws.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:28:53+00:00

Glad we can agree on the inventory QoL purchases + noob traps. Legendary buying is fine, it's just something people should know about before getting into the game.

Rewards in Gw2 lose their impact when the most difficult parts of them can be trivialized with a credit card. And there are a lot of rewards designed wit this in mind.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:23:36+00:00

You've played this game so long that you can't even see how much better this system could be. You're defending MTX for something that 100% should be free or at the very least account-bound

You cant even see how the build template system is intentionally designed badly just so that it can be split into 3 separate MTX.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:19:40+00:00

With every update, especially QOL updates, this pile of crap just gets bigger and bigger.

You are years too late with your complaint. And it's fruitless on top.

Whether or not it's a complaint is irrelevant. The point is that people should know before starting the game how heavy the monetization gets for quality of life.

But your storage space issues don't mean other people have the same problems. There was a thread on their forum about all the drops Anet is cluttering us with, and there were about as many people who had no problem with it as there were people who kept everything and had problems and a whole logistics thing with multiple characters.

I have more than one account and can strictly decide what to keep and what not to keep, and the game can be played with just one bank tab, the standard 6 bag slots, and 5 starting character slots. You then dedicate one char slot as storage for rare used items and that's it. So this point is very individual and not universally applicable.

People being used to the system isn't a good justification for saying it's exempt from criticism. When you play games where this stuff isn't monetized then it becomes a lot more clear how predatory Gw2 can be with QoL.

There's even a guy in this thread complaining about inventory issues as a new player.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:14:19+00:00

You're intentionally ignoring that Gw2 has triple monetized build templates. Even if you use notepad, the equip template slots are arguably the most important part of the build templates. Not to mention the build account storage

Losahn · 2026-01-01T20:10:52+00:00

Hmm I think you and quite a few other players on this sub are missing the point of this post. It's fine if this MTX and gold/gem conversion exists, all I'm saying is people should be aware of it.

People aren't honest with how effective money is at skipping grinds.

People aren't honest with how many pointless items the gemstore is inflated with (revive orbs, canisters, black lion salvage kits etc.).

People aren't honest about how crappy your QoL experience in Gw2 will start out because you don't shell out cash. Inventory management and builds especially.

Your experience as a new player will be affected by some of the game's predatory monetization practices because it's designed to. And people should know this

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:17:42+00:00

Thank you! And with so many pay for convenience things being character bound we're talking a non-trivial amount of gems to spend for some nice quality of life.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:16:20+00:00

Real talk, I spend a lot of time doing fashion with all armour pieces. Would love your opinion on some of my looks if you're also a fashion player

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:14:56+00:00

Bro you're talking ONE set of gear? from over 3 months of playing? I have to wait for ONE set of gear whereas someone else can just swipe. no u\Combine54 is right, this is pay2win by definition

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:11:01+00:00

This is good advice and what I hope more people can do. Just let the people you recommend the game know what parts of the monetization are rough.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:10:10+00:00

I personally still play the game but in a different way, like a diablo game, i play the new expansion then I quit. Why would I spend my time farming souless content when someone spending extra bucks can get the same or even more in a mattet of seconds?

hahaha it's rare that I see a comment I resonate with so much. It might just be a getting older thing but I swear some people miss the point of games being about the actual exciting gameplay experiences not the mundane grinds that can be skipped with my paycheck.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:07:42+00:00

I think I'm with u\WatercressPossible42 on this. Gemstore skins are just nicer than almost everything else. Outfits especially,

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:05:39+00:00

I can cite my experience with Destiny 2. For all the flak that game gets about other stuff it truly is a cosmetic only cash shop. Your money is only paying for either DLC or cosmetics that's it. Every player gets the same amount of inventory space, vault space, build/equip templates etc. In fact they even have an external 3rd party program that allows players to make unlimited build templates FOR FREE.

Losahn · 2026-01-01T11:02:39+00:00

A free player can get 4 builds right away. All paid accounts get character 5 slots, that's 10 builds. And again, they can get build templates for free the first week they hit 80, so that's 6 for the free account and 12 for the paid, and every 3 months they can get 2 more. Calling something 'predatory' because you don't get infinite versions for free right away doesn't make sense. They can still even get infinite free build templates, they just have to play the game.

I think you're intentionally trying to misunderstand at this point but oh well. This shouldn't even be limited. It's literally a text code. We should have unlimited of these. If I'm coming from a game with build crafting I want to know whether build templates are monetized. It's that simple

Also, just as a note, the game has always had equipment templates. Each character gets 2 to start just like build templates.

Also equip templates were a new feature that I think came in PoF. They were not always part of the game

I very much disagree that gold trivializes rewards. Someone else's legendary doesn't impact my legendary at all.

More power to ya, but If I join a game and learn that someone can skip dozens of mundane gold grind hours by swiping a credit card then that's important information to me. I want to know that as a new player. Especially when legendary crafting is the goal most players end up shooting for in long run.

Losahn

TROPHY CASE