In defense of the paid WoW level boost.

[XDSkyFreak]

Eh ... TBH I don't really see why people keep playing WoW in the first place. And before you scream at me, I played WoW till I grew roots in front of my computer back in the day, leveling up 3-4 characters to max level and gearing them properly. But I just stoped at one point and asked myself 2 questions: 1)What am I gaining here for my time spent doing the same dungeons over and over and over again and grinding out? and 2)How in the hell does this game do justice to the story of Warcraft?

The answer to the first for me was simple: better items so I can raid some more. And I shut down the game never to play end-level content again. As for the second ... I actualy started hating blizz for taking an awesome universe and turning it into a joke in order to make money, but hey, personal tastes. I just think everything warcraft that happens after TFT is stupid and retarded and a waste of the franchise from a story point of view.

OT: You're starved for time OP? Then here is a much better use of your time in WoW than wasting 60$ for the privilege of doing the same dungeon over and over again untill you've visited them more times than you visited your parents house: Create a new character and level him up to cap. Then create another character of a different race and class and do the same. I know alot of people re bitching about low level content not beeing fun ... they are doing that because they went through this alot of times. Just do this for every class and/or race with maybe some extra effort for the Death Knight, and then stop. Or do it untill you get bored then stop. This way you will have the privilege of playing the actualy fun part of wow: the leveling up. With varied and random story, exploration, discovery and at least some semblance of soul, and not the workplace grind that is the high level raiding.

EDIT: Of course if you think workplace style grinding in raids or BG's is your definition of fun (as it seems to be with all players of wow for reasons I can't fathom ... I mean really why grind all day like you're doing a second job AND pay in order to do it?) then by all means boost. And get earplugs for the vets that will yell at you if you don't know how your class works. I was just advising out of personal experience and comon sense.

But if you are so starved for time OT, why then do you wish to get back into a time-sink? Because at the end of the day that is what all mmo's are. Games that take way too much time out of your life. I played mmo's alot back in the day. and I still play games, even though my spare time if growing ever so more restricted. But I just vowed never to get into an mmo again ... way to much time invested for gaining not even the satisfaction the ending to a good story brings me.

 

[PlayerDos]

It's tough work that leaves you exhausted and drained. But it also leaves you with a ton of excess cash that you honestly don't have time to use.

Are you freakin kidding me
MY shopping list is 7,81 kilobytes of text, and i have loads of stuff i need in my head only

That 90 boost seems fun to shove on an alt, but i sure as fork aint gonna pay the price of a new game to skip the game

25$ mounts... pfahaha

A lot of people who would consider something like this are people have have played the game, realised it is complete and utter shit until endgame and then just get their endgame level character to gear up and actually do fun shit.

Levelling and doing the quests is kind of cool... once.

If I got back into WoW I would definitely do this, cause seriously fuck ninety levels again. Just fuck it.

 

[Supdupadog]

It's pay-to-win in the sense that you're not achieving the in game goal though gameplay, but rather by paying real world money.

Cuz we are all just so mad with all the instant 90's buying their way to Garrosh clears. (This is sarcasm. Raid is haaaaard)

Maybe you consider it an achievement to go through Hell Fire Peninsula and then run Hellfire Barracks 15 times, but I'm going to guess a lot of vets couldn't give a shiz. I don't.

Not that it super matters since 90 isn't going to be level cap in a few months.

Eh ... TBH I don't really see why people keep playing WoW in the first place.

I punched a giant robot scorpion to death.

 

[XDSkyFreak]

Not that it super matters since 90 isn't going to be level cap in a few months.

Eh ... TBH I don't really see why people keep playing WoW in the first place.

I punched a giant robot scorpion to death.

I just love the escapist crowd ... quoting one phrase out of context with no regards that said phrase acted as the hypothesis and what came after it as the arguments. In effect not having any kind of rational debate at all or trying to bring valid counter-arguments. And people wonder why sometimes I get cynical and dismisive of others.

But let's play: ok. One moment of legit awesome and fun. And then what? Back to grinding out dungeons and bg's and arenas, back to doing the same thing over and over again. And to burst your bubble even further: If that punching the scorpion to death was an event of actual importance I might agree with you. But since it changes nothing, achieves nothing beyond pushing further along the grind and since EVERY SINGLE PERSON PLAYING can do that right along side you ... it devalues the experience. But like I said ... maybe I just can't see why this second job that you are playing for apeals to so many people. Or maybe I've outgrown gaming (not likely ... still playing rpg's and strategy games), who knows. I just hope at some people realise what a drain on their short life WoW was and quit it. There will be others ready to take their place anyway ... or maybe finaly blizz will wake up, says everything in WoW was just one big fucking fever dream and finaly do Warcraft 4.

 

[Supdupadog]

Not that it super matters since 90 isn't going to be level cap in a few months.

Eh ... TBH I don't really see why people keep playing WoW in the first place.

I punched a giant robot scorpion to death.

I just love the escapist crowd ... quoting one phrase out of context with no regards that said phrase acted as the hypothesis and what came after it as the arguments.

I just didn't have anything more to say man. It wasn't a serious rebuttal.

I love WoW, and I don't feel the need to actually defend jackshit to you.

 

[Silvanus]

It's paying real money for a practical advantage in a competitive game. On that basis, I can't defend it-- microtransactions in a competitive game, like an MMO, should only ever be cosmetic things. Success means nothing when you can buy it.

If the levelling experience is tedious for a second character, then that is the core issue. They should address that, rather than charging you to bypass it.

 

[Supdupadog]

It's paying real money for a practical advantage in a competitive game. On that basis, I can't defend it-- microtransactions in a competitive game, like an MMO, should only ever be cosmetic things. Success means nothing when you can buy it.

If the levelling experience is tedious for a second character, then that is the core issue. They should address that, rather than charging you to bypass it.

Do you even know what's competitive about WoW?

Cuz the only time leveling is competitive is in the first week of a new expac launch, when people claw for server first.

And those people, who are serious, already have level 90s, and they are on the beta servers planning out what is the best Experience gain path.

 

[Silvanus]

Do you even know what's competitive about WoW?

Cuz the only time leveling is competitive is in the first week of a new expac launch, when people claw for server first.

And those people, who are serious, already have level 90s, and they are on the beta servers planning out what is the best Experience gain path.

I didn't mean that levelling itself was competitive. Shiny weapons, armour, prestige items are, I imagine, the things people claw after in the hope of being shinier and more prestigeful than people they meet.

More level-90 characters are just more tools to grind with and obtain them. At least, that's how I thought it worked. It would be similar to buying a successful run of a dungeon.

 

[VanQ]

I just think it came too early. Have you been in LFR recently? It's AWFUL. And I mean awful, even by LFR standards. The groups are filled to the brim with boosted toons jumping straight into ToT/Siege with boosted greens, have no idea how to play the role or class they boosted. Tanks that don't mitigate, DPS that can't break the 75k mark, healers that just stand there and wonder what the fuck is going on and not knowing how to dispel.

The level boost to 90 will be just fine when 100 is the level cap, but as it is now. It's just terrible.

And this is coming from a long time and current heroic raider who is 13/14H as a lock and 12/14H as a MW monk. I support the level boost and will make good use of it. It's just come too early in my opinion.

 

[Supdupadog]

Do you even know what's competitive about WoW?

Cuz the only time leveling is competitive is in the first week of a new expac launch, when people claw for server first.

And those people, who are serious, already have level 90s, and they are on the beta servers planning out what is the best Experience gain path.

I didn't mean that levelling itself was competitive. Shiny weapons, armour, prestige items are, I imagine, the things people claw after in the hope of being shinier and more prestigeful than people they meet.

More level-90 characters are just more tools to grind with and obtain them. At least, that's how I thought it worked. It would be similar to buying a successful run of a dungeon.

Well it's not.

Look, if you're going to argue this is a blemish on WoW's integrity or reject this concept on principal, actually know what we do in the game. Having more characters doesn't mean you win more. At best, you earn flexibility as the guy who can fill in as tank because Robin ate bad tuna.

Not to mention, any use of integrity and/or principal is dumb. This is not an issue to be covered in a blanket opinion. This is a 10 year old MMO. Things and ways of thinking have to change. MMO's are an evolving process. Blizzard is not going to listen to such verbalizations. They have been getting them since the first raid was made lesser by the second one.

Don't just complain about "buying power." Actually dig into it and see what is being bought. At least understand the damage that is or is not there.

Geeze, this is why I really only talk about WoW on the WoW forums. Cuz at least most everyone is on the samge page with whats going on in the game.

 

[Silvanus]

Well it's not.

Look, if you're going to argue this is a blemish on WoW's integrity or reject this concept on principal, actually know what we do in the game. Having more characters doesn't mean you win more. At best, you earn flexibility as the guy who can fill in as tank because Robin ate bad tuna.

Note, I didn't say you "win more"-- that's not what I'm arguing. But you do cut out a chunk of the requisite effort. You obtain something practical for less effort than others.

Not to mention, any use of integrity and/or principal is dumb. This is not an issue to be covered in a blanket opinion. This is a 10 year old MMO. Things and ways of thinking have to change. MMO's are an evolving process. Blizzard is not going to listen to such verbalizations. They have been getting them since the first raid was made lesser by the second one.

I'm not sure what you're saying here; do you think I'm being too general? That would be a fair criticism, admittedly.

As for Blizzard, of course they're not going to listen to my "verbalizations". I'm not talking to them; I'm talking to a bunch of Escapists. If MMOs are an evolving process, then verbalising criticisms should be an integral part of that process.

Don't just complain about "buying power." Actually dig into it and see what is being bought. At least understand the damage that is or is not there.

I'm not sure who you're quoting there; I never mentioned "buying power".

 

[Comocat]

What the $60 USD is buying you is really skipping a ~180 hours of mostly solo content (assuming 2 hours per level). I was leveling a rogue a few months ago and my queues for sub 90 dungeons were between 30 min to 1 hour, all I wanted to do was play the "massively" part of an MMO and I couldnt.

If people were bypassing arduous skill checks or similar blocks to progression, that would be one thing, but for a luxury product where progression is earned simply buy showing up everyday for a couple hours, how people spend their money is of no concern to me. IMO WoW has done a fairly decent job of maintaining the integrity of a pay to play model while tacking on amenities that can enhance ones gaming experience.

IMO there is a constant battle in the MMO-scape where people with too much time on theirs collide with people who have too much money in their hands. Its hard to take people far in either camp too seriously.

 

[Elijin]

Why was there ever the need to call bullshit, or defend it?

WoW was always divided into those who enjoyed the environment, the exploration, lvling and questing and those who saw all of that as a barrier to raiding.

Given there is (and always has been) a part of the playerbase who only saw the endgame as content worth their time, why is the concept of skipping straight to it so baffling?
I mean its still a game. And the point of the game is to do what you enjoy. If you dont enjoy the grind, but do enjoy the endgame, why not skip it if thats financially viable for you?


I've always felt like these complaints came from two core demographics. Those who cannot afford to just make these whimsical purchases, and those who kneejerk 'P2W!!!!!!' at any micro-transaction, regardless of validity.

 

[scotth266]

Honestly, I just wish they made the lower level content relevant. It really sucks that, come the end of the year, content for level 1-90 will be completely pointless.

And thus we strike upon the critical flaw of WoW (and many similar MMOs): ninety percent of the content is completely meaningless. The only content that matters is the endgame.

There are some exceptions to the rule (if you're into cosmetic shit or achievement whoring) but even these exceptions wind up being really boring. With current end-game equipment doing old raids is a chore, not a challenge, so even doing them for cosmetic/achievement reasons winds up being a snooze-fest.

It doesn't help that almost all of the game's content is extremely easy - the only challenge early on comes when dealing with the pre-60 shitty dungeon design, and the game remains consistently dull until you hit normal raids.

 

[duwenbasden]

Ooh, look at Sir Alan Sugar over here who's too rich and important to adventure properly! Would you like to skip to the ending cutscene because you have to go and buy a new aeroplane before the shops shut?

The same reason I don't use trainers in Skyrim. Yes, I do get that "must level up now" feeling once in a while, but I will never pay to skip content.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

It's pay-to-win in the sense that you're not achieving the in game goal though gameplay, but rather by paying real world money.

Cuz we are all just so mad with all the instant 90's buying their way to Garrosh clears. (This is sarcasm. Raid is haaaaard)

Maybe you consider it an achievement to go through Hell Fire Peninsula and then run Hellfire Barracks 15 times, but I'm going to guess a lot of vets couldn't give a shiz. I don't.

Not that it super matters since 90 isn't going to be level cap in a few months.

I'm against the pay-to-win concept in general, not just this specific case. I don't even play WoW.

 

[LetalisK]

How is this an example of pay to win? Pay to win what, exactly? Even ignoring that it's not even levelling to the cap once the next expansion comes out, what can a fresh 90 just start winning at in WoW, even in level appropriate gear? No, a level 90 is the most basic of things for this game. It's much more akin to one of those starter packs you buy for multiplayer shooter games, which is far from paying to win. That stuff barely promotes you to cannon fodder.

 

[Roofstone]

People want, and do buy it. So Blizz provides it.

They even price it high so people won't buy it simply to skip out. Is there anything to defend at all? Seems reasonable to me, even if I myself have no need for it.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

I don't understand. What you are saying is that you don't have enough time to play the game through so rather than accept the game isn't for you you choose to purchase your way past lots of the game and become a wallet warrior. It's ridiculous...you aren't defending yourself, you are making yourself out to be a fool

 

[Someone Depressing]

Isn't the whole point of the game leveling up, finding shit cooler than the shit you already had, and for bonus points, tagging along with other players to... do the same thing?

Aside from the point that the whole game is "level up to do stuff you can only do now to level up more", which doesn't make the game bad - in fact, that's what makes the game so engaging in the first place - but isn't that just a cash grab? They're already charging you for expansions and playtime, so asking for an extra $60? No. Blizzard, what are you doing?