I played WoW + other Blizzard games for years, I handed them money for a long time, and instead of getting a loyalty point store to perhaps get some of those "optional" stuff as a "thank you" for supporting the company a long time, instead get a "fuck you" in terms of cash shop. It would be reasonable to start accumulating somekind of veteran points after the first year, that you could use for race changes and mounts once a year, make long time customers happy, but no, just add more monetization.
But sure, it's just business, it pisses me off a bit since I'm not a greedy person, I offer a round for the friends, and I buy games from steam holiday sales into my secondary computer just so a friend of mine who cant afford shit gets to play too. Sometimes I expect to get something my self, at least a "thank you" if nothing else, but when I get a slap in the face instead, damn right I steer clear of the asshole who acts like that.
This is what i don't get, the sense of entitlement to something for using a paid service?
You paid your money and used the service that they provided, that was the end of the relationship as it would be with any other service that you pay for. But, Blizzard have provided some items over the years for those that have stuck with them, some tokens of loyalty if you will, like the baby blizzard bear and onyxian whelpling and the last couple of years they offered experience and rep gains along with the achievements that go along with them. They also offered those that proved a little loyalty and signed up for an annual pass a free copy of Diablo 3, a free flying mount and access to the next beta test, so roughly 4-5 months worth of subscription in goods just for signing up for something i would have paid for anyway, not a bad bonus.
You could take a negative view of those things and say that they did that just to keep you on board, but that is what every loyalty scheme is designed to do, keep you coming back to the same place to spend your money and get a token in return. I can't say that i would disagree with a loyalty bonus of some sort, would be a nice gesture, but i, in no way believe that i am entitled to get something just because i choose to pay for a service.
It must be Thursday, i never could get the hang of Thursdays.
With regards to Ultima Online and their "advanced characters", I quit the game when they started to sell them. Though that was because it took me about 9 months to get a GM miner in that game.
World of Warcraft takes some 50 hours to get to 90 if you know what you're doing. In that time, I don't feel like I accomplished anything. I simply say to myself, "Boy, I just wasted 50 hours... now to do the content that's relevant!"
With regards to the one level 90 per expansion, I agree that it's a good idea due to the above. Though since you are able to buy as many expansions as you want and then transfer that character, all they're doing is making it easier and cheaper for those who would do it anyways.
Personally, I'd pay for a 90 if it was under $20 like someone said. Maybe 10 or 15 would be a good range for me. That's simply because I may hate leveling a specific class or have leveled every class up to max level in the game and went through the content multiple times. It just feels boring and tedious at this point and I'd pay for the convenience so long as it doesn't make the current expansion content frivolous.
It seems like a good idea to me as a whole simple because it will allow old players to come back and play with friends without having to spend time getting past content they've already visited and risk getting frustrated and leaving again.
I would like if they implemented a restriction whereby you needed a level 100 or two level 90s (or one not counting the free one) before you are able to purchase a level 90 though. Kind've like how they did with the first "hero" class that started at level 55, what with you needing a level 55 before you are able to play it in game.
In the end I'd be more upset with the shop button in game than with this.
Due to frequent travel in my youth, English isn't something I consider my primary language (and thus I obtained quirky ways of writing). German and French were always easier for me despite my family being U.S. citizens for over a century. Spanish I learned as a requirement in school, Japanese and Korean I acquired for my youthful desire of anime and gaming (and also work now). I only debate in English to help me work with it (and limit things). In addition, I'm not smart enough to remain fluent in everything and typically need exposure to get in the groove of things again if I haven't heard it in a while. If you understand Mandarin, I know a little, but it has actually been a challenge and could use some help.
Also, I thoroughly enjoy debates and have accounts on over a dozen sites for this. If you wish to engage in such, please put effort in a post and provide sources -- I will then do the same with what I already wrote (if I didn't) as well as with my responses to your own. Expanding my information on a subject makes my stance either change or strengthen the next time I speak of it or write a thesis. Allow me to thank you sincerely for your time.
Do you know the cost of 1-90 leveling service of one character? whether we want to accept it or not thousands of people are buying level 90 toons or buying these leveling service. and whether we like it or not people will continue to buy these service, it was just about time a game publisher/developer started to sell their own leveling service. i think now they should add a RMAH that will allow us to sell our excessive gold to those who goes to an excessive length to make their toon stronger. if anyone should be making money of WoW that should be blizzard, so i do not see why it is wrong to sell level 90 toon. it is just about time. this is the only way to stop botting and gold selling by shady people. And no, i am not being sarcastic.
Boobs are LIFE, Boobs are LOVE, Boobs are JUSTICE, Boobs are mankind's HOPES and DREAMS. People who complain about boobs have lost their humanity.
Originally posted by jesteralways Do you know the cost of 1-90 leveling service of one character? whether we want to accept it or not thousands of people are buying level 90 toons or buying these leveling service. and whether we like it or not people will continue to buy these service, it was just about time a game publisher/developer started to sell their own leveling service. i think now they should add a RMAH that will allow us to sell our excessive gold to those who goes to an excessive length to make their toon stronger. if anyone should be making money of WoW that should be blizzard, so i do not see why it is wrong to sell level 90 toon. it is just about time. this is the only way to stop botting and gold selling by shady people. And no, i am not being sarcastic.
So, a new player at lvl90 with epic gear set on day one? I can see the youtube guides for "Get to max level and deck your char with epic gear in 10 minutes!" hahahaha, shit that might be just worth it, for the lulz if nothing else! - the more I think about it the less I can believe that you can adventure through the vast world of warcraft with a click of a button, sure demonstrates how much Blizzard appreciates their own huge open world.
Who am I kidding though, the open world in WoW has been a backseater fluff feature since TBC. Oh the days when I got the corehound tooth from MC and went to gank alliance on Burning Steppes right after to test drive it, there where no stupid flying mounts that you could use to carebear away from PvP, the days when world PvP thrived, fun times, fun times indeed :')
I don't see a problem with this at all and its not even a new thing, its just a more direct way of doing something that's been going on a very long time. I used recruit a friend to lvl a character to max lvl in BC I think, maybe wotlk then used the bonus lvls my friend earned to take another from 1 to max instantly. Later promotions allowed you to take more characters from 1 to 80 instantly.
It doesn't alter the game in any way for others at this point, people have had accounts full of max lvl characters for years. I have seen claims that this will make people leave because they will get to max level and get bored.. but theres so much more to the game than just being max lvl. I have 5 90s right now and many more between 80-89 and even if I played wow all day every day I wouldn't be able to do everything I want to get done in the game. And even once you get that free max lvl character you realize you have a character with no crafting, no reps, no cool gear, nothing- so you still have a ton of playing to do to really max it out.
I wonder how bored the dev's are working with this game still, god damn 10 years of the same thing. I would go nuts. All the new ideas seem to be from the marketing department and the devs just code in the crap, probably not even real coding anymore its just copy and paste with some new skins on top and playing with the stats numbers.'
I think they are just testing how far they can go before the fan base pushes back so they can use it with their next game. They have to have something on the burner soon I doubt this game can keep going for 10 more years.
I wonder how bored the dev's are working with this game still, god damn 10 years of the same thing. I would go nuts. All the new ideas seem to be from the marketing department and the devs just code in the crap, probably not even real coding anymore its just copy and paste with some new skins on top and playing with the stats numbers.'
I think they are just testing how far they can go before the fan base pushes back so they can use it with their next game. They have to have something on the burner soon I doubt this game can keep going for 10 more years.
I was actually (surprise, surprise) reading another of the many threads on WoW's website the other day about how long this could possibly go on for. Many, many players intend on being here until "the lights go out". I think you would be very surprised just how long Blizzard is going to milk this cash cow for. Even then ...when there's not another dime to be squeezed, I bet you'll see WoW go F2P for a period of time after that.
It's going to be a very, very long time before this game truly does just trickle off. If you look at the plans for WoD it really is just evolving into an almost MMO/RTS hybrid with systems such as Garrisons. I don't think Blizzard has any intentions of moving away from this project any time soon. Expect several more expansions.
There are other MMO's that have lasted ~15+ years that never had even a fraction of the number of players that WoW still has.
I was actually (surprise, surprise) reading another of the many threads on WoW's website the other day about how long this could possibly go on for. Many, many players intend on being here until "the lights go out". I think you would be very surprised just how long Blizzard is going to milk this cash cow for. Even then ...when there's not another dime to be squeezed, I bet you'll see WoW go F2P for a period of time after that.
It's going to be a very, very long time before this game truly does just trickle off. If you look at the plans for WoD it really is just evolving into an almost MMO/RTS hybrid with systems such as Garrisons. I don't think Blizzard has any intentions of moving away from this project any time soon. Expect several more expansions.
There are other MMO's that have lasted ~15+ years that never had even a fraction of the number of players that WoW still has.
As long as its making money I guess why not keep it going. They have such a huge test pool they can do whatever they want and see how far they can go to lose a million or what they can do to get that million back lol. It must be like a dream job for the marketing people, to be able to see on a large scale how what they do affects such a large population in a short period of time.
As long as they make it so you can't buy a 90 without having already leveled a character to 90, it's not a big deal to me. Replaying most of the content is just a chore for me at this point anyway. Still, I don't want completely new players buying their way to 90 and then having no clue whatsoever what they're doing and bringing down every group they're a part of.
I was actually (surprise, surprise) reading another of the many threads on WoW's website the other day about how long this could possibly go on for. Many, many players intend on being here until "the lights go out". I think you would be very surprised just how long Blizzard is going to milk this cash cow for. Even then ...when there's not another dime to be squeezed, I bet you'll see WoW go F2P for a period of time after that.
It's going to be a very, very long time before this game truly does just trickle off. If you look at the plans for WoD it really is just evolving into an almost MMO/RTS hybrid with systems such as Garrisons. I don't think Blizzard has any intentions of moving away from this project any time soon. Expect several more expansions.
There are other MMO's that have lasted ~15+ years that never had even a fraction of the number of players that WoW still has.
As long as its making money I guess why not keep it going. They have such a huge test pool they can do whatever they want and see how far they can go to lose a million or what they can do to get that million back lol. It must be like a dream job for the marketing people, to be able to see on a large scale how what they do affects such a large population in a short period of time.
It's actually extremely interesting when you think about it. Having a test market of that size to just experiment with. I've worked in a few different fields including marketing and I definitely wouldn't mind working on a project that had a pool of consumers like that to try out my new ideas with.
Originally posted by Ghavrigg As long as they make it so you can't buy a 90 without having already leveled a character to 90, it's not a big deal to me. Replaying most of the content is just a chore for me at this point anyway. Still, I don't want completely new players buying their way to 90 and then having no clue whatsoever what they're doing and bringing down every group they're a part of.
I'm almost positive that a current 90 will not be a requirement for an auto-90. I think the only requirement to create a level 90 is going to be purchasing WoD.
Again, though: Literally every day that I get back into the game, the less I care about this. A lot of people, myself included, are underestimating just how good some of the players still are...especially in PvP. The brand new level 90 who has never played WoW before is going to get absolutely decimated in WoD. Decimated. And in PvE: You know very well what kind of a stigma is going to be attached to them when they try to run dungeons and start working on a set they can run heroics with. They're going to have to put up or shut up quick or risk falling behind in gear right off the bat and facing quite a challenge in catching up unless they can find players who want to carry them.
Hey...I may (may) boost a character to 90, too. Definitely not this warrior as it will already be there when WoD drops and I wouldn't do it anyway. This is my main on my little comeback to the game here. I haven't resurrected any old toons. If I do boost a character to 90, though it definitely will only be one even if they do begin selling them in the online store. No way would I pay to just rush a character up to the level cap without knowing anything about the class and I doubt that I'm alone.
Originally posted by Deathenger I would buy one if it was under 20$, and was still playing WoW.
I guess I don't understand why people would pay extra and be okay with it while paying monthly along with buying expansions. I know one other mmo that does/did this (There are probably more), EQ2, but it is a F2P MMO.
Like EvE, both allowed selling/buying pre-leveled characters long before the F2P craze.
The reason this is going through is the new generation gamers, some who were but 3 or 4 years-old when WoW started in 2004. At level 100 now, just the thought of leveling that high as a new toon (and without the perks to level fast), is a non-start to many. It's also frustrating even with a friend getting them leveled for a new expansion, because their buddy has to level to 100, while their friend is starting at level 1.
It's long been needed.
For others getting classes they would otherwise not level to level 90 at least gets to play such characters at end-game. It would be the only why I'd ever have a Horde toon, and that as an Alliance spy (my hate for Horde is legendary -- my guild theme even comes with an Alliance version, too!).
now that ive got that out im going to go kick a puppy in the face then protest animal cruelty
Thank you and Good night
Remember the $25,000,000 sparkle pony?
This is the same sour grapes.
If someone can pay for XYZ and not get it free in the game, those who can't afford it (i.e., mommy and daddy said no) or want to be an extremist on ALL ITEMS IN GAME MUST ONLY COME FROM THE GAME raider, will get upset...again.
If folks are just multiboxing their way to level 90 these days without care in playing their classes right, a quick level to 90 is no different. $15 for it is a month less leveling, and a month more time trying to get geared...as we all know WoW's RNG sucks big time.
If people want to pay extra to not play a game they are paying for monthly, then by all means, let them.
It's not like this is new. With "raffing" and "ressurect scrolling" extra accounts, wich has been going on for ages.
The really sad thing is that someone paying for an instant level 90 is just saving a few days of time, since having a level 90 character is no achievement at all.
I don't get this... It's like using a cheat code to level up your character. Why are would you do that? Isn't the point of playing a game to enjoy the challenge and the content it has to offer?? I mean... whats the point?
IMO, I don't care, but (there are 2 buts) - if level 90 char will be cheaper than server transfer, will be ok for me. Another but, it could easily bring many noobs on higher level. Anyway, if you have "nuff" gold, you can always find person to pay some services for you.
I have no problem with buying a max level character (ungeared/basic quest gear).
Not P2W IMO since the win part in most games is defeating your opponent in PVP which you need some semblance of "skill" or experience, and PVE raiding like content which requires specific experience of each fight. After some time gear makes up for lack of skill, but even in most current endgame PVE I have seen plenty of sufficiently geared people fail from a lack of "skill" at the game.
Its a convenience and I actually resent cash shop vanity items more in the game than I do the option of buying a max level character in a subscription game. Reason, subscriptions should unlock access to all the content, to include potential loot or achievements for such pets and mounts.
Yeah so again I have no issue with buying level capped characters, that said I wouldn't do it because I like levelling
I actually think this a good idea providing that it's at a reasonable price. After leveling one or two characters in an mmo I always have trouble leveling any more. I just get too bored and burnt out.
Let's say it costs $20. That saves me an enormous amount of time and grinding to get a max level alt. Instead of spending x amount of hours, I can instead work an hour and have an alt leveled to max level.
It saves the most precious resource any human being has, time.
I don't like the idea of buying a character, it cheapens the efforts of those that worked to get their character to max level. With that being said I understand some people want to experience end game content and don't have a lot of spare time to level a character so I guess I wouldn't be totally against it. I would feel better if people had to get to max level on at least one character before they were able to buy other characters.
What I would really like to see, is them split pvp off from the main game in some way. Make it so anyone can enter a battleground at any level with max level base stats when you enter, and then you would have a separate set of gear in a different window from your pve gear that would be your pvp gear to boost your stats from there. The pvp gear would still be bought with it's own currency and upgraded based on how much you pvp basically because you would earn more points for better gear. People that want to pvp more seem to be the ones that want max level asap. I would say the majority of pve players want to be in the leveling process, it's what they play the game for.
Pvp and pve in the same game are what cause a lot of controversies in mmo's because they are two different games essentially that effect all game systems. Game companies split this with gear most of the time, but they leave the leveling process that effects base stats the same across both systems and that's what messes games up. If they would split this they could slow down the pve leveling like a lot of pve gamers want and speed up the pvp leveling like a lot of pvp games want. There, problem solved.
I don't get this... It's like using a cheat code to level up your character. Why are would you do that? Isn't the point of playing a game to enjoy the challenge and the content it has to offer?? I mean... whats the point?
Wow has become a game of convenience, it seems the majority of players that play Wow now will do anything or pay anything to skip content, even though they're paying a monthly sub to play the content. tbh people can do what they want with there money, for me that's not the problem, the problem is the effects this will cause long term to the game. Blizzard are only looking at the now, which is them getting money. http://i.imgur.com/Tc3blZq.jpg
I heard someone say optional. Yeah it is, but it's not excatly giving you a fair choice is it? "You have 2 options, the first you can hit level 90 straight away, join all your friends, get into the action, all for a small fee or you can level in are empty baron world, wait in 30 min ques for dungeons, out level zones, zerg through quests and mobs, were by the time your level 60 you want to hang yourself out of boredom. Wish i was overreacting with the last part.
Comments
This is what i don't get, the sense of entitlement to something for using a paid service?
You paid your money and used the service that they provided, that was the end of the relationship as it would be with any other service that you pay for. But, Blizzard have provided some items over the years for those that have stuck with them, some tokens of loyalty if you will, like the baby blizzard bear and onyxian whelpling and the last couple of years they offered experience and rep gains along with the achievements that go along with them. They also offered those that proved a little loyalty and signed up for an annual pass a free copy of Diablo 3, a free flying mount and access to the next beta test, so roughly 4-5 months worth of subscription in goods just for signing up for something i would have paid for anyway, not a bad bonus.
You could take a negative view of those things and say that they did that just to keep you on board, but that is what every loyalty scheme is designed to do, keep you coming back to the same place to spend your money and get a token in return. I can't say that i would disagree with a loyalty bonus of some sort, would be a nice gesture, but i, in no way believe that i am entitled to get something just because i choose to pay for a service.
It must be Thursday, i never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Ofcourse. I also have the right to say how I feel about their business.
Boobs are LIFE, Boobs are LOVE, Boobs are JUSTICE, Boobs are mankind's HOPES and DREAMS. People who complain about boobs have lost their humanity.
So, a new player at lvl90 with epic gear set on day one? I can see the youtube guides for "Get to max level and deck your char with epic gear in 10 minutes!" hahahaha, shit that might be just worth it, for the lulz if nothing else! - the more I think about it the less I can believe that you can adventure through the vast world of warcraft with a click of a button, sure demonstrates how much Blizzard appreciates their own huge open world.
Who am I kidding though, the open world in WoW has been a backseater fluff feature since TBC. Oh the days when I got the corehound tooth from MC and went to gank alliance on Burning Steppes right after to test drive it, there where no stupid flying mounts that you could use to carebear away from PvP, the days when world PvP thrived, fun times, fun times indeed :')
I don't see a problem with this at all and its not even a new thing, its just a more direct way of doing something that's been going on a very long time. I used recruit a friend to lvl a character to max lvl in BC I think, maybe wotlk then used the bonus lvls my friend earned to take another from 1 to max instantly. Later promotions allowed you to take more characters from 1 to 80 instantly.
It doesn't alter the game in any way for others at this point, people have had accounts full of max lvl characters for years. I have seen claims that this will make people leave because they will get to max level and get bored.. but theres so much more to the game than just being max lvl. I have 5 90s right now and many more between 80-89 and even if I played wow all day every day I wouldn't be able to do everything I want to get done in the game. And even once you get that free max lvl character you realize you have a character with no crafting, no reps, no cool gear, nothing- so you still have a ton of playing to do to really max it out.
I wonder how bored the dev's are working with this game still, god damn 10 years of the same thing. I would go nuts. All the new ideas seem to be from the marketing department and the devs just code in the crap, probably not even real coding anymore its just copy and paste with some new skins on top and playing with the stats numbers.'
I think they are just testing how far they can go before the fan base pushes back so they can use it with their next game. They have to have something on the burner soon I doubt this game can keep going for 10 more years.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
I was actually (surprise, surprise) reading another of the many threads on WoW's website the other day about how long this could possibly go on for. Many, many players intend on being here until "the lights go out". I think you would be very surprised just how long Blizzard is going to milk this cash cow for. Even then ...when there's not another dime to be squeezed, I bet you'll see WoW go F2P for a period of time after that.
It's going to be a very, very long time before this game truly does just trickle off. If you look at the plans for WoD it really is just evolving into an almost MMO/RTS hybrid with systems such as Garrisons. I don't think Blizzard has any intentions of moving away from this project any time soon. Expect several more expansions.
There are other MMO's that have lasted ~15+ years that never had even a fraction of the number of players that WoW still has.
As long as its making money I guess why not keep it going. They have such a huge test pool they can do whatever they want and see how far they can go to lose a million or what they can do to get that million back lol. It must be like a dream job for the marketing people, to be able to see on a large scale how what they do affects such a large population in a short period of time.
It's actually extremely interesting when you think about it. Having a test market of that size to just experiment with. I've worked in a few different fields including marketing and I definitely wouldn't mind working on a project that had a pool of consumers like that to try out my new ideas with.
I'm almost positive that a current 90 will not be a requirement for an auto-90. I think the only requirement to create a level 90 is going to be purchasing WoD.
Again, though: Literally every day that I get back into the game, the less I care about this. A lot of people, myself included, are underestimating just how good some of the players still are...especially in PvP. The brand new level 90 who has never played WoW before is going to get absolutely decimated in WoD. Decimated. And in PvE: You know very well what kind of a stigma is going to be attached to them when they try to run dungeons and start working on a set they can run heroics with. They're going to have to put up or shut up quick or risk falling behind in gear right off the bat and facing quite a challenge in catching up unless they can find players who want to carry them.
Hey...I may (may) boost a character to 90, too. Definitely not this warrior as it will already be there when WoD drops and I wouldn't do it anyway. This is my main on my little comeback to the game here. I haven't resurrected any old toons. If I do boost a character to 90, though it definitely will only be one even if they do begin selling them in the online store. No way would I pay to just rush a character up to the level cap without knowing anything about the class and I doubt that I'm alone.
Like EvE, both allowed selling/buying pre-leveled characters long before the F2P craze.
The reason this is going through is the new generation gamers, some who were but 3 or 4 years-old when WoW started in 2004. At level 100 now, just the thought of leveling that high as a new toon (and without the perks to level fast), is a non-start to many. It's also frustrating even with a friend getting them leveled for a new expansion, because their buddy has to level to 100, while their friend is starting at level 1.
It's long been needed.
For others getting classes they would otherwise not level to level 90 at least gets to play such characters at end-game. It would be the only why I'd ever have a Horde toon, and that as an Alliance spy (my hate for Horde is legendary -- my guild theme even comes with an Alliance version, too!).
Ally4Life.
.:| Kevyne@Shandris - Armory |:. - When WoW was #1 - .:| I AM A HOLY PALADIN - Guild Theme |:.
YAY lets complain about a feature that is
A. Not yet Official
B. OPTIONAL
now that ive got that out im going to go kick a puppy in the face then protest animal cruelty
Thank you and Good night
Remember the $25,000,000 sparkle pony?
This is the same sour grapes.
If someone can pay for XYZ and not get it free in the game, those who can't afford it (i.e., mommy and daddy said no) or want to be an extremist on ALL ITEMS IN GAME MUST ONLY COME FROM THE GAME raider, will get upset...again.
If folks are just multiboxing their way to level 90 these days without care in playing their classes right, a quick level to 90 is no different. $15 for it is a month less leveling, and a month more time trying to get geared...as we all know WoW's RNG sucks big time.
.:| Kevyne@Shandris - Armory |:. - When WoW was #1 - .:| I AM A HOLY PALADIN - Guild Theme |:.
If people want to pay extra to not play a game they are paying for monthly, then by all means, let them.
It's not like this is new. With "raffing" and "ressurect scrolling" extra accounts, wich has been going on for ages.
The really sad thing is that someone paying for an instant level 90 is just saving a few days of time, since having a level 90 character is no achievement at all.
I don't get this... It's like using a cheat code to level up your character. Why are would you do that? Isn't the point of playing a game to enjoy the challenge and the content it has to offer?? I mean... whats the point?
IMO, I don't care, but (there are 2 buts) - if level 90 char will be cheaper than server transfer, will be ok for me. Another but, it could easily bring many noobs on higher level. Anyway, if you have "nuff" gold, you can always find person to pay some services for you.
I have no problem with buying a max level character (ungeared/basic quest gear).
Not P2W IMO since the win part in most games is defeating your opponent in PVP which you need some semblance of "skill" or experience, and PVE raiding like content which requires specific experience of each fight. After some time gear makes up for lack of skill, but even in most current endgame PVE I have seen plenty of sufficiently geared people fail from a lack of "skill" at the game.
Its a convenience and I actually resent cash shop vanity items more in the game than I do the option of buying a max level character in a subscription game. Reason, subscriptions should unlock access to all the content, to include potential loot or achievements for such pets and mounts.
Yeah so again I have no issue with buying level capped characters, that said I wouldn't do it because I like levelling
I voted 'No' because some content, even if it's rubbish I don't want to buy, is better than nothing at all.
I'm not tempted to play WoW at the moment as it is, so things can only get better from my perspective.
I can "buy" a level 80 in GW2, and that's not considered P2W. Why should it be in WoW?
I thought the mounts were ridiculous.
I actually think this a good idea providing that it's at a reasonable price. After leveling one or two characters in an mmo I always have trouble leveling any more. I just get too bored and burnt out.
Let's say it costs $20. That saves me an enormous amount of time and grinding to get a max level alt. Instead of spending x amount of hours, I can instead work an hour and have an alt leveled to max level.
It saves the most precious resource any human being has, time.
I don't like the idea of buying a character, it cheapens the efforts of those that worked to get their character to max level. With that being said I understand some people want to experience end game content and don't have a lot of spare time to level a character so I guess I wouldn't be totally against it. I would feel better if people had to get to max level on at least one character before they were able to buy other characters.
What I would really like to see, is them split pvp off from the main game in some way. Make it so anyone can enter a battleground at any level with max level base stats when you enter, and then you would have a separate set of gear in a different window from your pve gear that would be your pvp gear to boost your stats from there. The pvp gear would still be bought with it's own currency and upgraded based on how much you pvp basically because you would earn more points for better gear. People that want to pvp more seem to be the ones that want max level asap. I would say the majority of pve players want to be in the leveling process, it's what they play the game for.
Pvp and pve in the same game are what cause a lot of controversies in mmo's because they are two different games essentially that effect all game systems. Game companies split this with gear most of the time, but they leave the leveling process that effects base stats the same across both systems and that's what messes games up. If they would split this they could slow down the pve leveling like a lot of pve gamers want and speed up the pvp leveling like a lot of pvp games want. There, problem solved.
Not all who wander are lost...
Wow has become a game of convenience, it seems the majority of players that play Wow now will do anything or pay anything to skip content, even though they're paying a monthly sub to play the content. tbh people can do what they want with there money, for me that's not the problem, the problem is the effects this will cause long term to the game. Blizzard are only looking at the now, which is them getting money. http://i.imgur.com/Tc3blZq.jpg
I heard someone say optional. Yeah it is, but it's not excatly giving you a fair choice is it? "You have 2 options, the first you can hit level 90 straight away, join all your friends, get into the action, all for a small fee or you can level in are empty baron world, wait in 30 min ques for dungeons, out level zones, zerg through quests and mobs, were by the time your level 60 you want to hang yourself out of boredom. Wish i was overreacting with the last part.