Regional Minipets

None of these things, save the Gray Giant (a minipet, might I add), are able to be traded in-game. That, I think is the crux of the matter. Special regional things like the Coke items and preorder items are fine, tradeable items are not. That is, unless you think it's ok to offer tradeable items in the online store. I'm pretty sure you don't.

Ahhh Gaile, sometimes I wonder why you answer... It's all greed and jealousy... and you'll never be able to satisfy that.

Like the "controversy" over the Roller Beetle mini pets... Like the rare skin weaps being 'out of reach' for the 'poor humble casual' player... etc etc etc

gimme gimme gimme...

I want, I want, I want...

It's the mantra of the gamers, like spoilt brats in a shopping mall.

ad nauseum

Thank you for your comments Gaile, answers my original question rather well.

As for Friday, thank you for your constructive post to a question string.

It 's not about things being out of reach and jealousy.

I completely agree that mini's and the like awarded as prizes for in-game competitions should be just for those that won them.

What i disagree with is that the 'free' promo items, such as the 'purple' Asian mini-pets are not available as promo items for everyone. These mini-pets were free, there was no competition, no special challenge for the players, but they ended up with items which now sell for 200k plus gold in-game.

I'd be perfectly happy if they got extra character slots and Grey Giants (which were ugly mini's) and all other regions should be given the same promo opportunity on the Naga, Oni and Longhair Yeti.
This would firstly be fair and secondly stop the damage the silly prices of these pets is causing to the in-game economy. If everyone could get them, their price would drop to a more reasonable 20k to 50k like the Giant.

Please give EVERYONE a magazine or internet offer to gain the purple Asian mini-pets that were not won by any sort of competition.

What the hell kind of damage does a minipet cause? So what if they are more expensive... -.o

How does it affect you negatively directly?

i am personaly from China, and i also read the fourms on chinese web-site(they are still in beta test), i would like to see what chinese ppl will get after the releas of the GW in China, and we can easily find out the whole "world balance" thing

I think given the number of times this issue has come up...meeting the needs of the different communities would be to give everyone an EQUAL shot of ALL the mini-pets, or at the very least the promo-purple ones.
If that happened, you'd stop having these threads coming up.

Oh dear...by your profile it suggests you have an issue to burn anyway.

When a new player comes along and finds they have something they had to do NO work for is worth 500k (for example) they sell it. Remember, as a promo item, a bit like the Grey Giants, these were probably easily gained even at low levels and possibly even without the need to even do a quest.
They now have a huge sum of in-game gold that allows them to get almost anything for their character. It is quite possible they will pay higher than normal prices to make sure they get said items, as they dont have to worry about the gold so much.
The sellers now see people will pay this new 'falsely' inflated price for the items and now they expect that price. Suddenly something gets far more expensive and out of the reach of the regular player and causes even more player dissatisfaction.
That is why promo items should be generally available, it keeps things balanced.

Competition wins are different, they had to be earnt (in a way) and would therefore always be a rarity.

Edit: Ok, you're right, your profile is irrelevant, my apologies. How does it effect me personally? Well, i try and look at the bigger picture, not just myself, but it does mean i cant get a Naga mini without paying silly money, which shouldnt be the case. When things that shouldnt be expensive suddenly shoot up, it effects everyone, me included. Yes, some things should be expensive, but there are many that should not.
Things that are rare drops and special wins are one thing, things that were tradable freebies is another.

My profile is irrelevant to the discussion.

Good explanation of what is happening. But it doesnt satisfy the question of how it affects YOU specifically in a negative way.

Not everything is supposed to be affordable by the average player. Some things are meant to be expensive.

You guys complain too much.

Trying playing from Brazil, where we have no nearby servers (therefore usually high ping), no promotions ever, no special editions, no magazines. In fact, we cant even buy expansions here!!

You guys have already so much more then a lot of people do to even think about start complaining.

Consider this a crusade for guys like you too. This is about EVERYONE getting the same access to things that were not special wins and the like.

I consider those exclusive mini-pets bribery since those regions never get favor and Guild Wars was released there at a much later time than in the US / Europe.


on a side note: Pandas are cute, but id rather have a roller beetle.

I cant see how this "crusade" is any good for me. Like i said, we dont have promotions, magazines, or anything like that.

Anet just doesnt seem to care about South America, despite the fact that there is a big number of players from this region and its growing everyday.

As i said, at least you guys could get the grey giant! And you got districts for you and servers nearby. You guys shouldnt be the ones complaining.

So if I understand you correctly Ferret, your main complaint is that because a small group of folks were able to get something for free that then ends up (because of its rarity) becoming insanely expensive. And that this then somehow disrupts the game because... a "new" or "lucky" character is suddenly rich instead of having had to grind/farm their way to it. Is that a fair restatement of your complaint?

To a degree, but its not just about the insane costs caused by the rarity, its about balance and fairness.

Anyone has the chance to find something in-game that is super-rare and suddenly giving them a financial boost, but to get something for free right from the start that has been made delibrately rare due to its somewhat unfair distribution is the problem. It falsely inflates the price of something that really should not be worth that much (using the Naga Vs Grey Giant as an example).

I guess my main complaint is that myself and others did not get the equal opportunity to get one of these very nice free mini-pets through a promotion related to something in their own country and region. If it had been made available, you could be sure i'd be doing my best to get the magazine, use the internet cafe chain or whatever and got myself one of these pets, mostly because they are far better/more interesting than most of the others IMO.

So extending your logic, you would be opposed to every 100,000th character that gets created being given a mini-Cynn. Right? What if every 100,000th character that completed Glint's quests got a mini-Glint. Would that be more fair since those characters have obviously spent more time and are therefore more deserving of being lucky?

You say that these regional mini-pets are "falsely inflated". How is their high cost false? They are just as rare as the mini-racing beetles yet you don't disagree that those minis should indeed be expensive. Why does getting something for having a code outside of the game make it unfair to be valued highly?

I'm just not sure I understand why there should be a bias against someone getting lucky at the start versus getting lucky later on.

This has NOTHING to do with luck or time playing. It was a promo in that region, everyone there had the chance to get them, it wasnt random (at least not for the purple pets which is where my arguement rests).
It was a marketing gimmik. Luck is when something is gained by chance (like the odds of a mini-bone dragon Vs troll) or finding a super-rare gold.
The price IS falsely inflated as the mini-pets were only marketed in one area, but otherwise free.

I dont think you're really paying attention to the details of what is being said here.

In fact, by the ORIGINAL arguement of the OP, what was being pointed out was that when the Asian regional got a mini-pet promo, they got a choice or chance of three types as opposed to the ONE that was available to everyone in Europe and USA. Getting the Mini-Grey Giant was not anything to do with luck, you just had to order the right copy of a magazine. We should have had the same chance to aquire them. On the same note, all other regions should have had the chance to get a Grey Giant and have extra character slots, etc.

Edit: Having just seen that Wiki has updated the info on the purple mini's i now have to admit there was some element of luck as only so many were given out and to random people (who enetered the netcafe promo i guess and assuming there were more entrants than mini's available). This was still unfortunately ONLY available in that region. If all regions had been given the same opportunity, it would have made the whole issue a fair one and made these mini's more sensibly priced.

Actually, no I am paying attention to the details and I'm trying my best to understand your opposition to the purple mini-pets.

So because these mini-pets could potentially be traded for a profit and the only folks that could get them were located in a small region - there is an inherint unfairness in your eyes. Correct?

Let me then ask, if at an electronics gaming convention the folks that attended were given codes which gave them a mini-Cynn. Would this then also be unfair?

Well, yes, it would be unfair unless it was made available in some way to players in every country that played the game and yes i would say that even if i was one of the few who got one.

Unless there was going to be a convention in all regions/countries where this mini was available and it was advertised on the GW site so players were aware, it would be very unfair.

At least you had the chance to get the grey giant? Lots of players didnt have the same chance, so yet i dont see why you are complaining.

I dont see you asking for south americans, australians or africans to get promos or the chance of having unique items. You are only asking for something to benefit YOURSELF. That itself invalidates the whole argument.