ArenaNet has finally spilled the beans on the details of microtransactions in the upcoming Guild Wars 2. The latest blog post by Mike O’Brian, president of ArenaNet, explains what we can expect.
Players will be able to buy cosmetic items, account services, and time-saving items. Mike stressed that they want everyone to be able to enjoy the game without spending anything beyond the initial one-time cost of Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet just wants to offer more to those people who desire it.
There will be three in-game currencies: gold, karma, and gems. Gold will be used like it is in essentially every other MMO; karma can only be earned by doing things in game, like tokens in World of Warcraft; and gems are bought with actual cash similar to the PLEX system in EVE Online.
Players will be able to trade gems for gold, meaning anyone with tons of gold will still be able to buy cool items without having to fork over real money, and if you have more cash than time, you can buy gems to purchase items. This whole system will hopefully prevent gold farmers from ruining everything.
