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[Column] World of Warcraft: The Impact of WoW’s Instant Boost to Level Cap

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

Last week, word got out that Blizzard had set its price for boosting a character to level 90 after the World of Warcraft Warlords of Draenor expansion is released. There was already speculation going on, given previous leaks that included surveys with Blizzard asking players how much boosting a character up to cap was worth to them. It was thus pretty inevitable that we were going to see this sort of thing come to the shop. The settled upon price, as we know now, is $60. For those buying the expansion, they will get one character boosted up included, but for others, they’ll have the option to pay in order to save a lot of time. Blizzard eventually responded to the leak, confirming the pricing and explaining the cost. Yet, from a community perspective, there are a few serious questions that have come 

Read more of Christina Gonzalez's The Social Hub: The Impact of WoW’s Instant Boost to Level Cap.

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Comments

  • WaidenWaiden Member UncommonPosts: 500
    Lol no way I am ever buying a game with ioption to buy instant max lvl .. Ever
  • Soki123Soki123 Member RarePosts: 2,558
    I enjoy the game, I still play it, I could care less if someone pays $60 to boost their char. It doesn t effect me in anyway shape or form. I say good on Blizz, if they sell a lot of them.
  • NaralNaral Member UncommonPosts: 748

    It is just the game showing its age. The thing is, I could not be bothered to do this anyway. Levelling to 90 takes pretty much no time or serious effort as it is now, certainly going to save my $60 even if I wanted to use this feature.

    Also, wth is the point in playing a game when you dont enjoy actually *playing* the game? No thanks!

  • KarteliKarteli Member CommonPosts: 2,646

    I guess I won't be returning to WoW then.  Pay-to-Skip content diminishes any value for those who actually want to play the game .. you know, those who actually earned in-game everything they have?

     

    Hopefully this kind of crap does not stick well with MMORPG's.  I'm so sick of hearing about how someones time is more important than their money (it's only 12 cups of coffee in this case, etc).  Why bother even buying / downloading a game if you don't really want to play it the way it was meant to be played?

     

    Do people just want to trick others into thinking they are bad ass / hardcore, and perhaps weasel their way into the "cool" club?

     

    .. leveling in WoW was easier than ever anyways.  /sigh

    Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
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  • syriinxsyriinx Member UncommonPosts: 1,383
    Originally posted by Karteli

    I guess I won't be returning to WoW then.  Pay-to-Skip content diminishes any value for those who actually want to play the game.

     

    How?

    The content is still there, and with the tech WoW uses you wont notice any difference in number of people leveling.

     

    Its a complete non issue in EQ2 and it will be here.

     

    Most people in both games already have many max level characters and they might not want to play through burning crusade for the 8th time.  

  • AeonbladesAeonblades Member Posts: 2,083
    This just kills my enthusiasm for WoD honestly, won't be bothering with WoW again, probably ever.

    Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
    Have played: You name it
    If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.

  • SuperDonkSuperDonk Member UncommonPosts: 759

    Not a big deal imo. It is not like Wow is a new game where this could be a P2W type of thing. Pretty much everyone already has a level 90.

     

    Besides, it's not like it is hard to get to 90 as it is, with all of the BOA bonuses people can get from 1 to 90 in a few days. Why not let them bypass content they have already ran through, probably multiple times.

  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,824
    If you put in a cash shop a MMO will end up resorting to bribery, gambling and huge P2P items. When has it ever not?
  • AroukosAroukos Member Posts: 571
    Originally posted by syriinx
    Originally posted by Karteli

    I guess I won't be returning to WoW then.  Pay-to-Skip content diminishes any value for those who actually want to play the game.

     

    How?

    The content is still there, and with the tech WoW uses you wont notice any difference in number of people leveling.

     

    Its a complete non issue in EQ2 and it will be here.

     

    Most people in both games already have many max level characters and they might not want to play through burning crusade for the 8th time.  

     

    This ^^

  • HrothaHrotha Member UncommonPosts: 821
    Originally posted by Dogblaster
    Lol no way I am ever buying a game with ioption to buy instant max lvl .. Ever

    While I agree on the side that buying the level-cap is nonsensical and absurd in itself

    I support the option to give players the possibility of going into the endgame right away, like GW2 did. For PvP reasons it is very nice.

     

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  • Dudek28Dudek28 Member UncommonPosts: 224

    I think this is a great idea for blizzard. This will put power leveling companies out of business. I don't know how much they charge to power level these days but during vanilla you would be paying up to $200 to power level from 1-60. $60 is a steal to get a max level character legally and instantly! I think I've leveled almost 15 characters to max level over my wow career. I like this option.

    I hope they prorate the price if you have a character that's already has some levels into them. I wouldn't mind paying a prorated price to get my level 65 priest to 90.

  • HrothaHrotha Member UncommonPosts: 821
    Originally posted by Dudek28

    I think this is a great idea for blizzard. This will put power leveling companies out of business. I don't know how much they charge to power level these days but during vanilla you would be paying up to $200 to power level from 1-60. $60 is a steal to get a max level character legally and instantly! I think I've leveled almost 15 characters to max level over my wow career. I like this option.

    I hope they prorate the price if you have a character that's already has some levels into them. I wouldn't mind paying a prorated price to get my level 65 priest to 90.

     

    Who cares if it is a great idea for Blizzard? Are you Blizzard? No you are a consumer, you care for your and our consumer rights and not for the company that wants to row the boat in a total different direction.

    Yes the company, in this case Blizzard, is important because it is the birthgiver of the games you and I paly - but I rather abandon a mother that constantly wants to exploit me rather than being on the same level as she is. So No, this will never be supported.

    image

  • ArskaaaArskaaa Member RarePosts: 1,265
    dont see proplem. game turn free to play slowly.
  • HrothaHrotha Member UncommonPosts: 821
    Originally posted by Arskaaa
    dont see proplem. game turn free to play slowly.
     

    Yes you do not see a problem because you can barely look outside of your room. Look outside the box and understand that a game that turns free to play is shrinking the quality of content it produces to a bare minimum, because the QUALITY which was the initial subject why we bought a game is no longer the main reason for their very income - it is merely the Vanity shop.

    What on earth!

    Open your mind god damnit, asleep People like you are the problem.

     

    image

  • Dudek28Dudek28 Member UncommonPosts: 224
    Originally posted by Hrotha
    Originally posted by Dudek28

    I think this is a great idea for blizzard. This will put power leveling companies out of business. I don't know how much they charge to power level these days but during vanilla you would be paying up to $200 to power level from 1-60. $60 is a steal to get a max level character legally and instantly! I think I've leveled almost 15 characters to max level over my wow career. I like this option.

    I hope they prorate the price if you have a character that's already has some levels into them. I wouldn't mind paying a prorated price to get my level 65 priest to 90.

     

    Who cares if it is a great idea for Blizzard? Are you Blizzard? No you are a consumer, you care for your and our consumer rights and not for the company that wants to row the boat in a total different direction.

    I also think this is great for the average wow player who's sick and tired of grinding out 90 levels for the 10th time! If you can afford it and don't mind spending the cash I see no problem with it. As a consumer I love this option. If you the consumer don't. You have the right to level the old fashion way. It wont make a difference either way.

  • tawesstawess Member EpicPosts: 4,227

    Yeah.... Having to go through the now sadly outdated Burning Crusade content.. even with the xp boost is not something i look forward to do.. ever.

     

    So i give this initiative a big  plus. The game after all is old as the day is long and catching up as a returning player is a daunting investment as it is. Paying to catch up with your friends is not really a sin in my mind,

     

    Also seeing how people say that WoW is on "E-Z mode" any potential skill gap would be a non-issue. Heck anyone who left before Cata would pretty much have to re-school them self any way. =P

    This have been a good conversation

  • HrothaHrotha Member UncommonPosts: 821
    Originally posted by Dudek28
    Originally posted by Hrotha
    Originally posted by Dudek28

    I think this is a great idea for blizzard. This will put power leveling companies out of business. I don't know how much they charge to power level these days but during vanilla you would be paying up to $200 to power level from 1-60. $60 is a steal to get a max level character legally and instantly! I think I've leveled almost 15 characters to max level over my wow career. I like this option.

    I hope they prorate the price if you have a character that's already has some levels into them. I wouldn't mind paying a prorated price to get my level 65 priest to 90.

     

    Who cares if it is a great idea for Blizzard? Are you Blizzard? No you are a consumer, you care for your and our consumer rights and not for the company that wants to row the boat in a total different direction.

    I also think this is great for the average wow player who's sick and tired of grinding out 90 levels for the 10th time! If you can afford it and don't mind spending the cash I see no problem with it. As a consumer I love this option. If you the consumer don't. You have the right to level the old fashion way. It wont make a difference either way.

     

    Options are always okay but not developing a trend that slowly reduces options and turns over to a complete control, like we see now in our society and will increasingly see in the near future.

    Fault: The asleep consumer that can not see 1mile infront of him, what will happen next through his very decisions he makes. Mostly indecision turns into a fatal decision.

    image

  • ZakaneZakane Member UncommonPosts: 71

    Honestly this seems to defeat the point of playing a game.

    If I was a game designer and I spent months upon months making zones and bosses to only have the higher ups say "Hey lets just let everyone get instant max level so we can make a profit" I'd loose it.

    This is only going to hurt the game. It will only help further empty out the zones.

    Have we become so lazy that we cannot even play the game anymore?

  • Dudek28Dudek28 Member UncommonPosts: 224
    Originally posted by Zakane

    Honestly this seems to defeat the point of playing a game.

    If I was a game designer and I spent months upon months making zones and bosses to only have the higher ups say "Hey lets just let everyone get instant max level so we can make a profit" I'd loose it.

    This is only going to hurt the game. It will only help further empty out the zones.

    Have we become so lazy that we cannot even play the game anymore?

    To be honest I enjoy leveling 1-60. After that I rather kill myself.

  • KatbirdKatbird Member UncommonPosts: 21
    Might make PUGs a bit dicey but then they are a crapshoot anyway.
  • Path4Path4 Member Posts: 35

    Cash grab for a  aging game.  No way I'd ever spend $60 for a high level toon (not even max).

    Just tired of all the idiots racists etc.. in that game to even care about it. 

  • unfilteredJWunfilteredJW Member RarePosts: 388

    It's not worth your time thinking about what other people do with their money. Unless you are trying to take it.

    Love the language used in these threads as well. Get a dictionary; you're using words wrong.

    I'm a MUDder. I play MUDs.

    Current: Dragonrealms

  • Righteous_RockRighteous_Rock Member RarePosts: 1,234
    I won't be playing anymore, sub runs out today and I canceled a few weeks ago. For a ten year old game to pull this off is impressive and blizzard knows they need to cycle thier player base to new blood because many of the old dogs like myself are bored and moving on. It was great once but now, It's boring. Eventually everyone gets to that point. The old dogs want something new, but not so foreign that they feel out of place. It's why I predict Wildstar to do well. It often gets compared to wow, but it gives enough twist to make it different and it keeps enough of the wow concepts to appeal to the burned out wow players.
  • newbinatornewbinator Member Posts: 780
    Originally posted by Aeonblades
    This just kills my enthusiasm for WoD honestly, won't be bothering with WoW again, probably ever.

    Same here. I will stick to playing Classic WoW servers. I won't be playing retail again. Instant 90's leaves a horrible taste in my mouth and I can't in good conscience give Blizzard any more of my money.

  • CrazKanukCrazKanuk Member EpicPosts: 6,130
    Originally posted by Righteous_Rock
    I won't be playing anymore, sub runs out today and I canceled a few weeks ago. For a ten year old game to pull this off is impressive and blizzard knows they need to cycle thier player base to new blood because many of the old dogs like myself are bored and moving on. It was great once but now, It's boring. Eventually everyone gets to that point. The old dogs want something new, but not so foreign that they feel out of place. It's why I predict Wildstar to do well. It often gets compared to wow, but it gives enough twist to make it different and it keeps enough of the wow concepts to appeal to the burned out wow players.

    +1 I'll be cancelling to play ESO. Will probably go back for WoD, but I think that Blizz is basically dealing with ebbs and flows right now and that's the only way that the game survives. 

     

    Whatever it takes to survive at this point, I suppose. They need to plan for the future, and monetizing their player base will work as long as people pay for it. Once they get tired of that, it might actually go completely F2P. 

    Crazkanuk

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    Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
    Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
    Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
    Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
    Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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