World of Warcraft Confirms Microtransactions

[DugMachine]

Like I said in the last thread, I don't like this one bit. Yes WoW has had microtransactions for awhile with pets/mounts and recruit a friend offers even FASTER leveling but if anything that was mostly to get more subs and have friends play together. Now we're going to have people buying xp boosts and charms? What next? $50 and you can buy a full LFR set?

Hopefully it stays in the asian servers. If it does come over to NA I probably won't quit but the second they mention any sort of actual game improving item I'm out of here. I hope they don't cause I really do love this game.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

I'm perfectly happy to play a game for free if the guys riding the mounts that move 5% faster and have 50 more polygons pay for it.

If WoW went f2p with micro I would play if the total cost to me was $5 in the months that I actually played.

Really these guys need to look at the DDO model, which in my opinion is the perfect f2p pricing method.

You can pay a subscription to "rent" everything, or pay for the content piecemeal but once you pay you own it as long as they keep the servers up.

Also your sub comes with in game currency so after subbing for x years (3 for ddo?) you will have enough to buy almost all the content. That is a great way to reward loyal subscribers and considering how high MMO churn is you really won't get that many that take advantage of the deal.

But the fact that it exists at all makes subscriptions that much more attractive.

 

[RatherDashing89]

But that's always been limited to a handful of mounts and pets. Now it's going to be pay to level faster. And it's going to feel a lot more intrusive as more items are added.

Technically, you could already do that (in a roundabout way). Recruit-a-Friend gave ridiculous bonuses for getting a new player signed up or a retired player to return. I knew several fools who set up accounts with themselves, paying an extra $15 a month, just to get the faster leveling so they can skip more of the content they paid for. All they are doing is making the opportunities to waste your money more visible in the game, which is both an increase in convenience and an unforseen means of drawing unwanted attention to the fact that you are still paying $15 a month for a game with a Free-to-Play business model.

 

[suitepee7]

seeing a LOT of hatred for this, but most people seem to be forgetting that they've had pointless vanity purchases for years, the only difference is now its in game rather than on a website. the xp buff and charms are a bonus i guess, but considering all new content is designed for end game anyway, they aren't things you'll even need. if anything it gives new players a way to catch up, similar to how heirlooms help people level alts.

all of that being said, i'm not a fan in the slightest. but then again, seeing as none of it affects end game it is a complete nonissue for me. the second they implement actual gear purchases though, i'm out.

 

[Negatempest]

So quick question, that was answered a few days ago, why should MMO's even make compelling quests anymore if the majority of players are just going to blow through them?

The reason, because Money.

Now the question has become: Why even buy the game if you're not going to play it?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave.

 

[alj]

Not been seriously into wow since Litch King, having played since day one i have mixed feelings about this, i mean buying a vanity item or a xp boost or even lower level gear to help you level quicker is all well and good and i don't have a problem with it ( hell i have done it i have created a second account to get a nether rocket and would quite happily buy XP boosts in the secret world until i AP capped).

What they need to look out for is buying too many short cuts, yes in our modern busy lives its not possible to play like crazy like many of us used to we have jobs lives responsibilities ect. But if you short cut too much to get to the "real game" of the raids and end game pvp then you miss the journey and that is where the fun is. Make the whole game the real game.

Short cutting to the end will only make the problem the game has at the moment worse where they have to churn out more and more and more content faster and faster because they make the journey to that content so short or none existent that people have nothing to work at, burn through the content super fast and then have nothing to do.

Overall i don't have a problem with some of this just be mindful blizzard where this could lead and how it could impact your game.

 

[chiefohara]

If it screws gold sellers and bot hackers out of their money then i see it as a good thing.

Considering the monumental amount of time you need to spend on leveling some characters, its not a bad thing.

I quit WOW years ago, but if i wanted to play again id have to grind like a lunatic to become useful to a guild, if i cared enough i think i'd rather spend 5 Euro on XP potions than 40 hours of life.

 

[shintakie10]

But that's always been limited to a handful of mounts and pets. Now it's going to be pay to level faster. And it's going to feel a lot more intrusive as more items are added.

Technically, you could already do that (in a roundabout way). Recruit-a-Friend gave ridiculous bonuses for getting a new player signed up or a retired player to return. I knew several fools who set up accounts with themselves, paying an extra $15 a month, just to get the faster leveling so they can skip more of the content they paid for. All they are doing is making the opportunities to waste your money more visible in the game, which is both an increase in convenience and an unforseen means of drawing unwanted attention to the fact that you are still paying $15 a month for a game with a Free-to-Play business model.

You can also buy heirlooms in game which increase xp gains pretty significantly, and they're ridiculously cheap. There's also a world item that increase your xp by 300%. There's also world events constantly that give you increased xp amounts.

Anyone who whines about the extra xp part is just a dolt. Levelin in WoW is so fast that its ridiculous. If you play a Monk you can literally hit max level in 6 hours, total, if you have any idea what you're doin.

The part that worries me is the lesser charms. You only need 50 a week on each character (and need is a really really strong word, at best you get 3 extra chances for loot on bosses a week, whoopie?) and its piss easy to get them in game to the point that I'm usually done farmin them incidentally while I'm havin fun in pet battles after less than an hour. However its the most tangible benefit from Blizzard that you'll be able to pay for, even if its actual benefit is pretty meaningless.

On the flip side, it will be really really nice to be able to buy and gift pets and mounts directly from the game instead of doin it through the battle.net site.

 

[stabnex]

Aaaaaand my account's cancelled again. Funny, after two years I thought they'd be tired of jerking people around. I came back afterall this time for this to happen? Screw you Activision.

 

[littlewisp]

I blame Vivendi for this one. With so many people hands out towards Blizzard, I don't really blame them for looking for quick-fix solutions.

 

[Aeshi]

I don't think EXP boosters should ever be a microtransaction in an MMO. Leveling up should be FUN (as wow has been) not a race to the end.

Leveling up usually IS fun the 1st time around, maybe even the 2nd, but the 3rd or 4th time? Not so much.

I'm willing to bet that people who buy XP boosters tend to be those who want to have one max leveled character of each class (or equivalent thereof)

Just wait, soon they will make all monsters and quests give only 1 or 2 xp each, unless you spend X amount in their in-game shop buying items that boost XP by 5000%.

And soon after that, Corporate Stormtroopers will be kicking down your doors to kill non-WoW players! (see, I can pull bullshit scenarios out my ass and act like they have a chance of happening too!)

It's been said before, there have been DOZENS of XP boosters (like Herilooms) before this, and the game hasn't turned into "1XP per quest/monster" yet (practically the opposite)

 

[Rossmallo]

As I read the article, storm clouds have begun to form outside.

I'm kind of expecting a Horus Heresy level shitstorm from the WoW forums.

This is the 2nd time ive seen that on fhis site. What riots where therd? Im a war40k fan so id like to know. Couldnt find on google. Unless your talking about the actual lore itself lol.


And yeah this sucks, I just came back to wow from am4 month break. And yes, these are optional purchases, but once its implimented who is go say they wont remove xp boosting gearso you Have to buy the boost?

The last time, It was just a datamined spell effect.

Now it's been confirmed.

 

[shintakie10]

As I read the article, storm clouds have begun to form outside.

I'm kind of expecting a Horus Heresy level shitstorm from the WoW forums.

This is the 2nd time ive seen that on fhis site. What riots where therd? Im a war40k fan so id like to know. Couldnt find on google. Unless your talking about the actual lore itself lol.


And yeah this sucks, I just came back to wow from am4 month break. And yes, these are optional purchases, but once its implimented who is go say they wont remove xp boosting gearso you Have to buy the boost?

The last time, It was just a datamined spell effect.

Now it's been confirmed.

It was confirmed a while ago. The only thing they confirmed now was that it would be from an in-game store instead of on the battle.net site, also that they were possibly lookin into the lesser charm thing.

 

[Mortamus]

Some info is showing up on forums regarding what to expect out this store. For example:

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/7763486854?page=4#61

 

[scw55]

I'm hoping this means cheaper/no sub fee eventually (I doubt it; greedy Blizzard).

I'm also hoping this doesn't make my friends stop playing. Or if they do stop playing, they jump ship to an MMO I enjoy a lot and they play. I don't want to be alone...

 

[Waaghpowa]

Lesser coins are easy to get, all you need to do is Isle of Thunder daily quests twice a week. That's like 30 minutes a week AND you make gold. I fail to see how it was an issue before.

You could argue that the experience boost would be ok, but with the amount of heirloom gear there is, it's not exactly the issue. The real issue involving EXP comes with the fact that heirloom gear, though bound to your Battle.net account, cannot be transferred cross realm.

I can see this experience boost thing being a answer to fact I can't send my heirloom gear to a different server, but that's not really a solution. Why can't they just make it transferable? Either this is flat out greed or massive oversight.

Edit: Before people start shouting end of the world, keep in mind that all of these things, aside from not even existing in the game yet, are optional.

 

[Vegosiux]

Edit: Before people start shouting end of the world, keep in mind that all of these things, aside from not even existing in the game yet, are optional.

Would you be OK with them selling BiS gear for money? Or content packs? Because, you know, you don't have to buy it, it's optional...

I've quit years ago, but am just facepalming quietly at this. You already pay for the game, for the expansions, and there's a monthly subscription.

Honestly, I wish so many people hadn't jumped on board with that retarded horse, and this maybe wouldn't have happened.

On the other hand, I'm only surprised it took them this long to try and pull this one. I suppose they believe the community has been lubed up by the pets&mounts enough so that they can start introducing actual gameplay bonuses for money...

 

[Evonisia]

At first I was alright with it but after hearing that you can get those fucking ridiculous tokens which allow you get a higher chance of gear drops in things with this, I'm against it. You should not be able to buy your way to the top, especially because it effects the endgame whilst the levelling thing is a lot more optional as levelling is already too fast in WoW.

 

[LetalisK]

Edit: Before people start shouting end of the world, keep in mind that all of these things, aside from not even existing in the game yet, are optional.

Would you be OK with them selling BiS gear for money? Or content packs? Because, you know, you don't have to buy it, it's optional...

That's quite the impressive logical leap you made there.

How about we actually wait for them to add things to this store that aren't completely redundant before we start burning effigys, yes? I daresay anyone who would buy lesser charms or an XP boost are kinda stupid since both of those flow like water in the game. Waste of money. Shit, being able to buy pets in the store should be more controversial than this.

Edit because I'm trying to be less dicky.

 

[Vegosiux]

Edit: Before people start shouting end of the world, keep in mind that all of these things, aside from not even existing in the game yet, are optional.

Would you be OK with them selling BiS gear for money? Or content packs? Because, you know, you don't have to buy it, it's optional...

Vegosiux, capable of making ridiculous logical leaps in a single bound!

Only when arguments as ridiculous as "It's optional" and/or "Companies exist to make money" are brought up. Logic already went out the window, so why hold back?

How about we actually wait for them to add things to this store that aren't completely redundant before we start burning effigys, yes? I daresay anyone who would buy lesser charms or an XP boost are kinda stupid since both of those flow like water in the game. Waste of money.

How about keeping a cash store out of the game entirely, considering there's already a subscription fee running? But hey, if people want to buy the entire "It's all for your convenience" shtick, fine with me...or it would be, but such practices affect every consumer, including those not directly using them.