Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming

A letter from the President on GuildWars2.com announces Guild Wars 2 is now free for everyone, as they hope to show introduce more players to their MMORPG before the upcoming release of the Heart of Thorns expansion. ArenaNet president Mike O’Brien also announces raids are coming to the game, and this article has more details on how that will work. They also offer this post with further details on making the core game for free, their business model going forward, and restrictions they are placing on free accounts, with an "exhaustive" FAQ to cover the fine details. Here's a trailer highlighting the just-revealed October 23rd release date for Heart of Thorns, here's a play for free trailer, and here's a bit on the news, explaining how this does not make Guild Wars 2 a typical free-to-play game:
Guild Wars 2 has the simplest of business models: buy the game and play it as long as you want with no monthly fees. We’ve been championing this as a great business model for MMOs since launching the first Guild Wars® a decade ago. We continue to believe in buy-to-play. It’s good for gamers and good for developers.

This business model has been fantastic for Guild Wars 2 and our fans. Since launching three years ago—almost to the day, today—we’ve sold more than 5 million copies of the game. And we’ve delivered more than 40 major content releases, with world-changing events, Living World episodes, and feature packs, all free of charge.

Expansions are the one place where the buy-to-play model gets a little tricky. When you’re coming in as a new player to a game that has a bunch of expansions, what exactly should you buy in order to play with your friends? The base game and also every single expansion? We’ve seen examples in the industry where that kind of thing has gotten out of control. It doesn’t seem right, and we want to do better. As we get ready to ship our first expansion for Guild Wars 2, we want to ensure that we keep the business model friendly and simple. So let’s be clear that when we say Guild Wars 2 is buy-to-play, we’re only asking you to buy one thing: the current release, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

To accomplish that, we’ve already included the core game as a free bundle for anyone who buys Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. And today we’ll go a step further: we’re making the core game free for everyone. For anyone who’s been curious about Guild Wars 2, now you can just go to guildwars2.com, download the game, and start playing.

If anyone can play Guild Wars 2 for free now, does that mean we’re switching business models to free-to-play? Are we going to be one of those games that aggressively monetizes free players through microtransactions? Absolutely not. Guild Wars 2 remains the same game it always has been. We’re making the core game experience free because we’re confident that anyone who loves Guild Wars 2 will buy Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

View : : :
21 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  ] Older
21.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Sep 1, 2015, 09:23
21.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Sep 1, 2015, 09:23
Sep 1, 2015, 09:23
 
If someone hasn't played this already, they definitely should now that it's completely free. Best leveling experience I have ever had in an RPG, and I've played a lot of them.

At endgame, you have to be a bit careful. WvWvW can really be very fun, but I found Fractals to be very annoying. Some of the pickup groups have really terrible players with terrible gear, and those players always seem to whine like hell.

But overall, if you haven't played this, I would DEFINITELY try it out.

Kittens!
Avatar 8692
20.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 31, 2015, 10:00
20.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 31, 2015, 10:00
Aug 31, 2015, 10:00
 
Verno wrote on Aug 31, 2015, 08:47:
I had nothing but positive experiences with the community in GW2.

Totally agree. After years of playing WoW, it's almost a shock how polite people are in GW2.
19.
 
Re: ArcheAge Head Start Issues
Aug 31, 2015, 08:48
19.
Re: ArcheAge Head Start Issues Aug 31, 2015, 08:48
Aug 31, 2015, 08:48
 
I fully argue that FF14 has a better leveling experience, and a far more thought out and intriguing story. No other MMO comes close to the experience I've had in FF14 since I started playing in May. Heavensward is easily one of the best storylines in ALL of the Final Fantasy games as well. Which makes it not only an amazing MMO but also a top notch FF game, which makes it even more impressive.

Is it F2P? No. But I have always prefered sub MMO's since it weeds out more morons. I will continue to feel that way too.
-C22
Avatar 55066
18.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 31, 2015, 08:47
18.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 31, 2015, 08:47
Aug 31, 2015, 08:47
 
I had nothing but positive experiences with the community in GW2.
Avatar 51617
17.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 31, 2015, 08:07
Bub
17.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 31, 2015, 08:07
Aug 31, 2015, 08:07
Bub
 
GW2 spends more on slick advertising campaingns and 'managing' it's player community than any game out there.

It is so slick, fanboys have been taught that gem sales are not microstransactions, that there is no gear treadmill, (oh really, try getting a team without a legendary and ascended kit).

One of the most egregiously elitist and toxic communities out there. It has it all, obnoxious elite snobs to moronic free playing South American Spanish speaking sub-teens.

Which is a shame as technically, the game has really good graphics, runs fine on an average computer, the only nigel I have with it's graphics is that WoW has them beat hands down in terms of color pallettes. GW2 is so flat and unsaturated, which is sad given the smooth action and detailed models.

No thanks.

This comment was edited on Aug 31, 2015, 08:16.
==================================================
Bubb Stubbley
... I miss BBS..
"There is a sucker born every minute." - PT Barnum
==================================================
Avatar 58208
16.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 31, 2015, 03:31
16.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 31, 2015, 03:31
Aug 31, 2015, 03:31
 
Interesting business model. With that said from what Ive seen of this game, I don't think Ill be trying it.
I have a nifty blue line!
Avatar 46994
15.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 31, 2015, 02:33
Vio
15.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 31, 2015, 02:33
Aug 31, 2015, 02:33
Vio
 
Queues...... Bots..... These guys are not thinking. ://////////
14.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 22:46
14.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 22:46
Aug 30, 2015, 22:46
 
Yeah, I just picked this back up. This is the only game I come back to after taking 6-12 months off. They really tightened up the pvp. The rewards now directly funnel what would be pve grinding.

The whole game is very slick.
13.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 21:58
13.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 21:58
Aug 30, 2015, 21:58
 
I love GW games for the simple fact that I have a hard time paying for a monthly fee. I don't stick with games. I play, go away, play go away, play the hell outta something for 12 days, then quit. GW and GW2 works perfect for me.
12.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 19:02
12.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 19:02
Aug 30, 2015, 19:02
 
Even after 3 years people bring an outdated MMO attitude to this game. I.e. "I'm paying $15 a month for this, so I have to spend 20 hours a week doing boring repetitive crap to keep up with the gear treadmill."

Except GW2 has no subscription fee and no gear treadmill. It doesn't have the same kind of "endgame" as some other MMOs -- but MMO endgames are 90% boring grind. I don't get why anyone would complain that GW2 doesn't have that.

If there's no subscription fee, you don't have to grind for hours every day just to keep up. When they're doing the living world releases, I just play for a few hours a week to follow the story, and I don't feel like I'm falling behind. It's ideal for people who like to play MMOs sometimes, but don't want to spend 20+ hours on it every week.
11.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 17:33
11.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 17:33
Aug 30, 2015, 17:33
 
If you have ever raced to 80, gotten frustrated by a "lack of endgame," and quit playing forever, you're missing out on a lot of what GW2 has to offer. It's slowed down recently with this final stretch of preparing for the expansion release, but when the Living Story is rolling, you have new stuff to do every 2-4 weeks, plus the ever-growing stores of seasonal/holiday content that become active in their respective calendar months.

They've had two meaty seasons of added story content so far that would have been released as $30 expansions by ActiBlizzard, plus a bunch of other more self-contained events like the election, Queen's Jubilee, rebuilding Lion's Arch, and the addition of Southsun Cove (new level 80 zone). The second Living Story season most recently added two more zones and built the story up into what's going to happen in Heart of Thorns.

Of course, it's very convenient to forget about or flat-out ignore all the significant FREE updates that go into this subscription-less MMO when you're feeling like you want to bitch about them asking you to buy a larger, more traditional expansion pack. I'm hoping the fact they're charging for it means it will be even bigger and better than the Living Story stuff they've done thus far, but even if it's not, I've gotten such an incredible amount of value from that initial $50 purchase that I really don't mind overpaying a bit on an expansion so that they can keep supporting this game the way they have been the past three years.
10.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 17:31
10.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 17:31
Aug 30, 2015, 17:31
 
Frijoles wrote on Aug 30, 2015, 16:34:
Alamar wrote on Aug 30, 2015, 14:59:
What's the current end game? I didn't know that had ever changed.

Current end game is running Fractals over and over for gear (and components). The gear isn't really an upgrade, though, just different looks to it. Or if you're in to PvP, you can do the WvWvW stuff or arenas. Then there's always the achievements to finish (100% world completion takes a lot of effort). And of course alts.

In its current state, end game isn't too thrilling IMO. GW2 is more about the journey to max level.


Heh, sounds like why I quit. Got max level, did a ton of PVP (our server was low pop though, so we got our butts kicked every week). Then I just got bored. I could farm to get new gear, but basically all of the gear was the same. I guess they don't want people's gear to decide PVP, but if not for new gear and new levels, why am I playing? The sheer fun of your server losing every week?
9.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 16:34
9.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 16:34
Aug 30, 2015, 16:34
 
Alamar wrote on Aug 30, 2015, 14:59:
What's the current end game? I didn't know that had ever changed.

Current end game is running Fractals over and over for gear (and components). The gear isn't really an upgrade, though, just different looks to it. Or if you're in to PvP, you can do the WvWvW stuff or arenas. Then there's always the achievements to finish (100% world completion takes a lot of effort). And of course alts.

In its current state, end game isn't too thrilling IMO. GW2 is more about the journey to max level.

Avatar 6700
8.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 15:57
8.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 15:57
Aug 30, 2015, 15:57
 
I'm interested, since it doesn't require a monthly fee, but I'm still put off at the time commitment an MMO requires.

Also, currently nursing a Civ 5 addiction...
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Avatar 22024
7.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 14:59
7.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 14:59
Aug 30, 2015, 14:59
 
Warskull wrote on Aug 30, 2015, 14:43:
Krovven wrote on Aug 30, 2015, 13:41:
A friend has been trying to get me to play it for years. But I never wanted to buy it as I wasn't a big fan of the first one.

Must resist...especially now that Diablo 3 Season 4 has started.


GW2 was not a great game at launch. The PvP was bad and there was nothing to do at the end game. The devs idea of the end game was to have you run around to all the leveling zones you never did and get scaled down so you could try and 100% the game. Most of the end game dungeons were busted and not worth doing. It was a pretty sad state.

However, it was nothing like Guild Wars 1.

What's the current end game? I didn't know that had ever changed.
Avatar 22996
6.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 14:43
6.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 14:43
Aug 30, 2015, 14:43
 
Krovven wrote on Aug 30, 2015, 13:41:
A friend has been trying to get me to play it for years. But I never wanted to buy it as I wasn't a big fan of the first one.

Must resist...especially now that Diablo 3 Season 4 has started.


GW2 was not a great game at launch. The PvP was bad and there was nothing to do at the end game. The devs idea of the end game was to have you run around to all the leveling zones you never did and get scaled down so you could try and 100% the game. Most of the end game dungeons were busted and not worth doing. It was a pretty sad state.

However, it was nothing like Guild Wars 1.
5.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 14:32
5.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 14:32
Aug 30, 2015, 14:32
 
I've said to before and I'll say it again, the leveling experience in this game is the best in any game I've ever played. Even if raiding isn't for you (whatever that will entail), I guarantee you guys will have an awesome time in the first weeks to months (depending on your leveling speed) with the leveling in the expansion/overall.

I am likely going to buy the expansion mostly for the awesome leveling experience, the group content, the big objectives, the massive continual progression during the large party invasions (whatever term) you use in a certain area.. all amazing. It goes from 5 players fighting 10 mobs at a time, to 50 players fighting non-stop vs a host of mobs all over an area, trying to complete objective together..

Now, if they can give me a reason to log in after i hit level cap, i'm listening..
4.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 13:47
4.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 13:47
Aug 30, 2015, 13:47
 
FYI Korovven, GW2 isn't very much like GW1. I mean it shares the smae history, landmass, lore. But basically everything else is different lol.

I personally probably won't be participating in raiding. I don't have the time to invest in it, I rarely do dungeons in the base game and haven't done past like level 20 fractals.
Avatar 17499
3.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 13:46
3.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 13:46
Aug 30, 2015, 13:46
 
I guess those of us that bought it, and rarely played it, can expect refunds? Yeah, who am I kidding.
2.
 
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming
Aug 30, 2015, 13:41
2.
Re: Guild Wars 2 Core Game Free; Raids Coming Aug 30, 2015, 13:41
Aug 30, 2015, 13:41
 
A friend has been trying to get me to play it for years. But I never wanted to buy it as I wasn't a big fan of the first one.

Must resist...especially now that Diablo 3 Season 4 has started.

21 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  ] Older