PAX East 2016 Pre-FAQ Thread

Jigglypuff510

Ask any questions you have about next year, especially of your a first timer

KAYNE86

I am a new to this. But i want to get tickets for 2016 pax east. is there a per order list? or how can i find out when they are on sale? or when they will go on sale? I am assuming that because its a pretty packed show, so tickets are limited.

VGguy49

If it is like last year, there will be no preorder list, and we will not know the ticket sales date beforehand. The most we would get would be the month or week or general time-frame. They have said many times that they do not like announcing the dates before hand in order to limit scalping.

zerzhul

follow http://twitter.com/official_pax for the ticket announcement.

rascrush

Ya i dont think they will annouce this year like they did 2 years ago. Just follow the twitter set alerts come like september and wait. I would assume we would see tickets drop somewere in the november or december range but u never know

Karoneth

Be sure to be ready in that timeframe, tickets do sell out very fast. I believe October and November are the key months for when ticket sales open for PAX East.

jdixon1972

Yeh, twitter is the only way to keep track. With the other pax (was it south?) coming before east, the ticket sales got pushed back, pushing it closer to the actual east date. Does anyone remember when tickets went onsale for east 2015?

Karoneth

November 12th, 2014.

rascrush

so about 4 months before pax which is why I said I would not be shocked to see november or december this year. With it being at the end of april

Jigglypuff510

What is a good thing to do on the first day ? I was thinking finding a group to play Melee with but what is a better idea ?

VGguy49

Friday might be a good day to try to get to the expo hall as it won't be as crowded as Saturday, just become some merch may not be restocked over the next 2 days. If you want to play more popular games, wait until Sunday morning as the expo hall is the least busy that day, and get in line for games you really want to play early. Other than that wait for the schedule to come out for panels on that day (which wont be for another 6 months probably) and also maybe play with some people in console freeplay.

Albion Knight

Very good info Thanks everyone. I've followed official pax and set the alert. I'll pop on my phone. I've missed the full Three days the last few years so I'm gearing up to hopefully get them for next year Which hotel would be the best to book?

schuss

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

What is a good thing to do on the first day ? I was thinking finding a group to play Melee with but what is a better idea ?

Definitely Expo Hall/Merch, as Saturday is a shitshow.
Last year my plan was: Friday - Expo, Saturday - Tabletop/Random Sessions (skipped Sunday as I had a young child).

klz

Albion Knight wrote: »

I've missed the full Three days the last few years so I'm gearing up to hopefully get them for next year

Nothing has been set in stone yet, but keep in mind that this year, they sold only single day passes for Pax Prime. Rumors of eliminating the multi-day passes for East have also gone around for a while, so prepare to save up for single day passes just in case.

Jigglypuff510

schuss wrote: »

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

What is a good thing to do on the first day ? I was thinking finding a group to play Melee with but what is a better idea ?

Definitely Expo Hall/Merch, as Saturday is a shitshow.
Last year my plan was: Friday - Expo, Saturday - Tabletop/Random Sessions (skipped Sunday as I had a young child).

Good idea I was thinking this after this post

Friday Morning- Expo Hall
Friday Afternoon- Console Freeplay
Saturday Morning- Smash Melee
Saturday Afternoon- PC Freeplay
Sunday?-Tabletop

Karoneth

Don't forget the awesome panels, went to a bunch of those this year. For hotel, depends on what you are looking for...if you are OK with not going back to hotel until you are ready to sleep, a hotel further out is less expensive. If you like to kick back in your room every now and then and offload your stuff, or have a quick commute from hotel to con, try for a close one like the Westin, Seaport or Renaissance but they sell out really fast.

jdixon1972

Yeh, based on the last two years, if you want to be at the Westin, Seaport, or Renaissance, you better be online waiting for OnPeak to go live. They literally sell out in a minute or two. I've stayed at the Omni Parker the last two years and was very happy with it. It's about a mile away, but the service was good and it has many food options around it.

rascrush

Ya the omni is always my back up if I cant get one of the big 3. Have been very happy with it the last two years not to far from the venue there is a shuttle that takes u to and from. Some good food and bar/club options as well right around there so def a great place to say if u cant get really close. I almost would rather stay there if I could not get the westin

hsu

Best way to do PAX is a little of everything everyday. The expo hall closes at 6pm, as do some (but not all) vendors at the tabletop area. Everything else stays open until at least 10pm, and some stuff stays open until midnight. Thus, my typical schedule is to hit the expo hall every morning until lunch, then do random stuff the rest of the day, making sure I hit the expo hall at least one more time for an hour, before it closes. Note that you should do your buying on Friday, as the most popular items and best deals sell out by lunchtime Saturday.

rascrush

Ya normally what I do is I look at the schedule see the panels that I really want to go to and then fill in the rest with expo hall stuff. Normally try to quickly check out the expo hall just to see if there are any big games that interest me when I 1st get there but besides that my days normally consist of panel hour or 2 on expo floor lunch another panel lil more time on the floor another panel so on so fourth. Normally I leave the hall at 6 or so and hit up a party or something like that for the night.

monkosh

Does anyone know what hotels will be expected to open in the con area? I saw that Aloft is expected to be open early next year.

Karoneth

Sure! The Element Hotel is across the street from the con and opens in December.
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=4143

The Aloft hotel is also across the street and opens February. Neither are inexpensive so hopefully they will be a part of the con priced hotel offerings.
https://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=4142

klz

The Element will likely be pricey, but the added kitchen would be a nice bonus for families and groups not dedicated to spending every waking moment inside the convention center, so I think it would be worth the extra money if it's within 50-100/night more.

I''d be curious what else the Aloft might bring or if it will be comparable to the Ren or Westin.

Jigglypuff510

Do people usually play standard Magic or should I get a Commander Deck ?

Jigglypuff510

Since they are likley doing away with 3-Day Passes will I be able to snag passes for all individual 3 days in one transaction ?

VGguy49

You should be able to

zerzhul

Jigglypuff510 wrote: »

Since they are likley doing away with 3-Day Passes will I be able to snag passes for all individual 3 days in one transaction ?

If that's the case, yes, as long as the days you want aren't sold out.

ModernMythsGM

Does anyone have info on when returning Tabletop exhibitors can expect to be contacted for contracts and such?

zerzhul

You'd have to email your sales contact I assume.

Jigglypuff510

Is Twitter the best way to find a group for Console Freeplay ?

Jigglypuff510

Any Hype ?

VGguy49

Yeah, just waiting for something to happen

zerzhul

I am guessing not much will be heard till after aus, but i could be wrong

jdixon1972

When were the tickest announced last year? Correct me if i'm wrong, but was alot of people spazing after Prime, only to be told not to worry, tickets would be announced sometime after Aus or South?

zerzhul

Tickets went on sale in November last year. This is not *necessarily* an indicator for this year, so keep watch on twitter, but I doubt it will be super soon after the south ticket sales which will be mid September.

okayrene

What methods does everyone use to make sure they're notified with alerts the moment tickets go on sale?

jdixon1972

The only way to really ensure you get tickets and a close hotel is to basically stalk the official twitter feed: @Official_PAX . Now, last year I also used a program called PAXchecker. It's a small java program that monitors the tickets site (i think) and can email and/or txt you the second they go onsale. It worked for me last year but it does state that it is in noway perfect and does state the above as well. Really, stalk twitter religiously and use any other method you can as a backup.

VGguy49

The better way to do it is to use tweetdeck. I think it is a desktop app but it also is a website which you can set notifications for certain twitter users (in this case PAX). The second they send out the tweet for PAX East tickets, you will get a notification and link for the ticket site, meaning that it will be a lot faster than using the PAXchecker.

killer6699

I have Twitter send me a text whenever Official_PAX tweets anything. Since I got a smartphone earlier this year, I also set it up so it sends me a notification whenever they tweet anything. I don't actually use any third party apps for it, though.

rascrush

question so I know the only exact way to buy a ticket is when they go on sale through here. However is there normally people selling tickets as it gets closer I know there was a reddit or something like that have people actually bought tickets off there or off ebay/stub hub stuff like that and actually got them?

VGguy49

I believe there is a trading post on the reddit, you may be able to find some online (though beware of fakers), and obviously you can buy them in person out side of the con center during PAX. BUT the best way to buy them and make sure they are real is by buying them on the site.