So yeah limitied time costume pieces and emotes....

Run the new halloween trial, using the LFG tab. Win, and it's one of the options! The trial is excellent and not that hard so it's pretty dang convenient to get.

There's a careful balance to play between convenience and exclusivity/special events. We want for there to be a reason to anticipate holiday events; we believe that they're pretty special as evidenced by the new Halloween Trial, and want to convey that sense of appreciation to you guys.

Combine this with the principal of wanting to introduce the concept of limited time items to the Paragon Market, and we have our seasonal offerings.

On the other hand.

Part of the impetus of the Paragon Market is to make more things more available to more people. As such, we're always considering what we should or shouldn't offer on a regular basis, especially if demand is high enough.

That and we like money.

TL;DR version, we have, and will continue to pass along feedback of this nature to the business development team.

Thanks

-Z

My only real hope, regarding limited time purchase stuffs, is that if it's not purchased and not available in the store, I'm hoping it also won't be clogging the costume creator with pieces there's absolutely no way to use.

I can't speak for others but...

The badges are why I run the events. The costume pieces, at least as per character unlocked, become a burden and almost discourage me from running the events. I can only kill Snaptooth so many times before I doze off in front of my laptop.

Oh, man, the bat aura. Talk about your things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Sounds really cool; in practice, it's more annoying than people leaving that PBAoE power with the bubbling mud hot springs effect on in Wentworth's. (Although, admittedly, at least it doesn't have a sound effect.)

We did have the year that all the bodies of water froze...

And isn't it winter time when going after the Winterlord?

I rather like the idea of the halloween events, but yeah I'll echo that I think it's kind of a bummer that I only get access to some of these things for a very small part of the year when some of their rewards are something I'd like to be able to get any time of the year, like if I want to make a new character later on.

There's nothing wrong explicitly with making unique items for these events, but then there needs to be some alternate way to get them when the events are not being run.

Like, the Witch's Hat? If I don't want to (or can't) run the Tip mission to earn the meticulous badge, I can wait to do katie Hannon's taskforce and go for the badge.

Now a problem example is like, the bat aura. I can run the limited time trial, sure, or I can buy it in the market, but the market listing is only available til Nov 18th. It's an account wide unlock, sure, but if someone doesn't get it before the trial or market listing is gone, that's it. That's a bummer.

Anything listed in the market shouldn't be limited time. Maybe limited promotions like discounts or extras associated with it, but the items themselves should not be taken off the market.

Again, really, if there's an alternate way to get all this stuff year round (even if its harder) I'd have no major objections. But relying solely on being active during a (relatively narrow) window for things like costume pieces and emotes.. eh. I'm not thrilled.

Liquid's above post is a bit long to quote, but I agree with everything he said.

I will not lie: though I find the Murder of Crows cc emote, Bat Aura, and all of the pieces in the Halloween costume pack to be very cool and well done, I have no current characters nor pending ideas that are in need of any of it. So I have yet to buy it. However, the fact that it will all be gone in a month, at least until next year, has me wondering if I should get it "just in case."

I understand that inciting that mentality is part of the marketing strategy, but while it may work for short term gains (as I am sure many people thinking similarly will buy or have already bought the pack), it becomes an annoying gimmick over time. You leave your customers feeling pressured to buy your premium products, even if they many not need it right now.

There is another industry in our world that does the same thing: Insurance. And nobody likes insurance agencies. Sure, we all buy it because yes, odds are one day we'll need it. But I do not think a gaming company should want their customers feeling like they are buying costumes for insurance purposes.

It's Shamrock Shakes and McRib Sandwiches all over again!!!