In regards to the discussion of whether or not GW2 was similar in its treatment of players to BfN I would have to say that this is both a yes and a no as far as I am concerned.
If I were allowed to complain only about one fault in GW2 it would be the absolutely atrocious RNG in that game, which I assume was made worse by the sheer bulk of the various duplicate cosmetics which were included in the pool and some really small drop percentages.
Personally I had good luck with the RNG- I unlocked all the characters from their randomly awarded sticker pieces without a large amount of waiting or frustration but I heard plenty of tales of people who had far, far worse luck than I did. Did that frustrating system push some people towards purchasing packs of coins so they could immediately spend them on sticker packs hoping for super rare or legendary character pieces? Probably. While coins were easily earned by anyone who routinely invested time in the game not everybody had that luxury and the temptation provided by easily purchased coin packs can be too much for some people who just can't wait for the often frustrating RNG to pay out what they really want.
While it is true that all you needed to earn just about everything in GW2 was to invest time playing the game and patience you also can't dismiss that some people would be tempted to buy coins, some might just buy once and then never again because the RNG still failed them but other people with less self control could have invested a larger amount of money trying to buy what they wanted out of the RNG. So it can easily be argued that GW2 also employed some predatory tactics but that pressure would have been felt primarily by those investing minimal time in the game or who were extremely impatient which I would imagine was only a small percentage overall.
In the years since randomized Loot Boxes are being targeted by legislation in a number of countries so the majority of companies are transitioning away from them and, at the core, the GW2 Sticker Packs were essentially randomized loot boxes. What is replacing that system is a new system where players generally know exactly what they are purchasing.
So if we assume that the fact that randomized Sticker packs aren't in BfN because of the possibility of future regulations possibly considering them to be a form of gambling that system needed to be replaced by something else and that something else is Rux's Store where everything is on sale for Rainbow Stars.
Only where in GW2 coins could be earned like water in BfN earning Rainbow Stars is time gated and kept to a bare minimum.
To replace the frustrating and fickle RNG from GW2 they opted for offering a small number of specific cosmetics for very short windows of time and to advertise those items by placing emphasis on the fact that their availability is limited and stgressing that if you don't get them now you may miss out completely. The randomized rewards in GW2 were frustrating but you knew that the stuff you wanted was in there and could drop from any Sticker Pack that you bought at any time but in BfN, so far, Rux's items have been presented as "get it now or don't get it at all" and we have no idea if or when any of the most desirable items will ever reappear. The same can be said about the Prize Maps- maybe we'll see that same Prize Map next Lawn of Doom or next Feastivus and get another shot at grabbing the stuff which was missed but nobody knows for sure.
By comparing the two it's easy to see that the system and in-game marketing presented in BfN is far more predatory and is targeted at a much wider audience; there is much greater pressure being applied, on those who are vulnerable to that sort of thin, to spend cash to get what looks cool. I would also be comfortable stating that these systems were designed knowing that the GW2 player base was top heavy with people who wanted to own every cosmetic so clearly using a FOMO marketing strategy would potentially drive more vulnerable players towards the cash transactions.
