Cross-Realm Dungeon Feature Coming Soon

Originally Posted by Scratches

People like you and Mascotte just don't get it, apparently. It has nothing to do with how having or not having the functionality affects your game. It's all about mentality; it's about their desire to start charging for in-game features -- which is something we were told, upon their introduction and over and over since, that "premium services" would never provide -- on top of a subscription fee that's already supposed to cover the costs of developing things like this. It's a very slippery slope, and such a simple, very basic, move like this suggests they want to move towards adopting a micro-transactions business model (aka, F2P), but still keep the subscriptions mandatory.
Additionally, considering the ability to group indiscriminately with players cross-realm, region-wide, is already in the game, it also raises a lot of questions about where the development costs actually are for this feature, to justify the extra $3/mo surcharge.

"Hey, remember that thing you guys have been asking about for the past year or so now? Yeah, we figured out how to do it, but we're going to charge you extra for it, just because we can. Sorry, but our investors and us, we love money. You understand, right?"

On a side note: Indelible proof that the Blizzard of yore is gone...

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Blizzard also hasn't stated whether or not it will be a subscription or a one time payment, so not sure where people are getting the subscription idea.

I was happy then i was sad. Premium really?

Originally Posted by Ranor

Statisticfail. Also, I'm not wrong. People just need things to cry about or their very existence is threatened.

Generally I'd agree with you, the WoW community is some of the most overreactive and selfish bunch of people on Earth. However, this is a feature that really should be free, and it just seems like the first step in a line of "premium services".

Blizzard are gods of game design at this point, yet it seems like they still don't understand how to really connect with their fans.

Originally Posted by ostjaevel

I was like "YAY" then i saw the word "premium" and went T_T.

same here.
was like "oh shit a good reason to come back to wow"
then i saw "premium" and was "WTF happened while i was not here ?!"
since when there's premium service on a monthly fee game ?! o_O

premium services like this bug me. 11 million people paying 15 bucks a month. they have billions. this is blizzard being greedy.

Get Cross-Realm BG instead. And please Blizzard don't make an premium function since we are already paying a high amount of money each month.

Originally Posted by kuku2

You didn't have the feature last month or any of the years before that -- what makes you think your subscription should grant you access to it now?

They start charging extra for patch content, go ahead and complain. They start charging extra for bonus services, keep your mouth shut.

This^ x 100

people need to understand that they can live w.o this feature and if they cant/choose not to pay for it then its ultimately their choice

Yea so... first off, go to hell blizzard. second off... PLEASE before you start asking for more money i ask for a detailed list of how you currently spend close to or all of the 171 MILLION dollars a month that you make from your current (albeit "lower") subscriber base. kthnksbye

this feature would have been grate for blizzard if it was free. playing with realid friends could keep some people playing the game.

getting people to pay extra is just greed and nothing else. its going to backfire and they will loose even more subs now.

Disgusting.

Originally Posted by Keristrasza

This is the reason this game needs shot, and buried. Its revolving too much around the person who is so self centered they have to stand out from the crowd, even if it means flaunting money to do it. "Herp derp I have SOOOO much money that I can buy my own raid to make me more special than those poor scrubs!"

Basic account (15$): Play wow like you have been playing now!

Silver account (25$): Get discounts on store pets, play wow, no lockouts on heroics, mobile AH and guild chat, get shiny * next to your characters name on chatrooms.

Gold account (35$): Bind on account flightpoint maps, heirloom gear discounts ingame, no lockouts on heroics unless done manually, raid lockouts reduced to 2 days unless extended manually, discounts on pets and mounts from store, shiny * on char name, cross realm dungeons, RAF xp(1-60) bonus forever.

Knight in shiny armor, pround defender of world largest videogame company replies:
"All of that is optional, blizzard is going middle road with the microtransactions. None of those changes are changing the game dramatically. You pay for what you want"

Not that anyone will see this, but... I think people are complaining about what's right in their face - or complaining about the complainers with entitlement issues.... when you should be really questioning the future of this game.

I think the poster of that blue dropped the ball when they said "premium."

Not... "a new paid service..." no they used the word premium and what I translate from office jargin... is something that you want to be careful with when you make announcements like that.

Those who saw a possible future "tiers" of subscription were right on the money - if they continue down this path, you may eventually have to do things like pay to raid, pay to use LFG, eventually pay to use Real ID with a note from blizz saying "thanks for taking the time to beta test our real ID system, SURPRISE! WE'RE CHARGING YOU NOW..." like they did with the remote chat.... the remote chat app, may I remind you, has been instituted by other mmos with subscription based platforms FOR FREE.

... let's see... continuing on : Paying for patches, possible raid tiers or heroics above and beyond (i.e. gear )
Moving realms to "upgraded servers" or giving people the choice "Hey kids, raid on the new and improved system for 10$ more a month..." where the rest of the "poor" subscribers stay on our existing servers with the various glitches and bugs.

I could go on.

This is only the beginning... why can't you see this?

Originally Posted by Almighty1

This^ x 100

people need to understand that they can live w.o this feature and if they cant/choose not to pay for it then its ultimately their choice

This isn't some kind of cosmetic of luxury feature like a sparkly pony or a race change. This is a gameplay element, one that the community has been asking for for a long time. When you start charging extra for in-game features, you're walking down a whole different path.

Originally Posted by coldfiredragon

There are a lot of things I will fault Blizzard for but charging people money for a service is not one of them. You have to pay for things you want. I know this idea might seem odd to the people that thing everything should be free (music, movies etc.) but that is not how the world works.

Paying for your sub with daddy's credit card, are you?

People already pay for the game. Cata features less content than any expansion to date (much of it rehashed), the slowest tier development cycle, the fewest bosses in those tiers, and so on. So the money they are ALREADY PAYING is getting them less than ever, and on top of that they are now being asked to pay extra for services which should have been free to begin with. Legit rage is legit.

Originally Posted by Tauror

My friends, I give you "demagogy". They are charging for a new optional feature they are planning to introduce in game, not charging for something already in game.

As I said, before today, no one really cared about their "friends" on other servers so much as today... Amazing...

Tell me why in the world are they wasting their time on "a new optional feature" and not on real content that we pay for? I don' pay 13€/month to get this "optional premium shit" in game

LoL

MMO front page:
Encounter journal 177 comments in 2 days
New legendary quest chain + set bonuses 57 comments in 1 day
Warlock t12 in different races + dailyblink 85 comments in 12 hours
Premium Service 337 comments in 30 min.

I think that explains how bad this is.

Originally Posted by Ranor

Statisticfail. Also, I'm not wrong. People just need things to cry about or their very existence is threatened.

No your just wrong and can't deal with it. Here's your first lesson, deal with it your wrong. You've been trying to convince people for pages now and failed hard, quit.

LOL no Blizzard

Originally Posted by Almighty1

Then dont buy it. you will live without it and play the same game everyone else is. Its like spending 20k on a car with basic package and calling the dealership greedy when they offer you premium sound system and leather seats at additional price. This is business all you little QQers need to grow up and learn how the real world works.

They're charging people for the ability to play with their friends.

Funny thing about the real world? It works that way so long as people let it. I guarantee you if people stopped playing WoW because of this, it wouldn't happen. Calling people whiners or QQers because they have been asking for the ability to play with realID friends on other realms, only to have it be a premium service, only makes you look like a greedy arrogant prick. The whole point of the realID service was to stay connected with people across factions/servers/games/whatever. If they're now making the benefits of that service only available for an extra premium.... that's a sign of the direction the company is headed, and should be taken accordingly.

Business is about making money and keeping your customers satisfied. Companies that forget the latter lose the former as well.

Christ, you people will complain about anything.

Originally Posted by Many

Faction change.... ok no problem with it. Ppl wil jump here and there every week.
Character transfer... ok no problem with it. Ppl wil jump here and there every week.
Character recustom... this is discuss able.

There's no reason to charge anything for these things, since the process is completely automated and they have probably gained money from developing these things before they even thought of them. I know we can't expect a company to give these things for free, but for a simple faction change and realm transfer to play with friends, 45 euros is way too much. Drastically lowering the price, few months cooldown period and I'd be fine with it. Hell, I would be fine if they charged you a bit more to do these things during the cooldown period.

But that's just too much in my eyes. You can get a new game for that.