Should Blizzard implement an honor/reward system for loyal customers?

[dalliah1]

I think in my years of playing WoW, i've spent more money on server transfers, faction changes and etc more than the actual WoW subscriptions. Whether it be raiders, people that enjoy playing alts that want to server transfer or faction change them for whatever reason. Eventually, you look at how much you've done it and go, holy shit i've spent a ton of money on these things. I was thinking it would be cool if Blizzard would implement a system where after a certain amount of purchases like faction changes, server transfers, etc. You get your next one for free or maybe 50% off. Now, this isn't likely to ever happen because let's be real, Blizzard and most of gaming companies in general love money :S

[Airwaves]

I think you miss the point of faction/realm transfers. The whole point in them is to hold off the effects of faction/realm imbalance. If they had free transfers like rift then every single realm would be 99% one faction. And realms would be in a much much worse state then they are today. The only reason rift gets away with it is because you can raid/group and even be in the same guild as the other faction so realm balance does not matter. Sure they make some money along the way but they are a business after all.

Rewarding players for faction transfers and realm transfers would just add to the problem. Now I do wish they would reward players that have been playing many years with mounts, transmog gear and other fun things. No reward for having an 8 year old account isn't nice.

[Hyve]

Loyalty bonuses are always a nice way to reward customers, but we have to be honest with ourselves (and to Blizzard) and realise what we get for our £8.99 a month. We get unlimited access for 30 days to all the current content, that is updated all the time without additional charge (excluding Expansion Packs). There are optional extras that help you suit your gameplay, and have little or no major impact on the game.

Honestly, I when you really think about what you get in World of Warcraft, it really is value for money, and on that basis I don't feel they need to offer loyalty rewards. However, I do know (from personal experience) that Blizzard are more likely to be of greater assistance to you over the phone, if you've been with them for a while.

I had a situation where my card was stolen, and I couldn't recall my details to make my subscription payment. They gave me 5 days free game time, to ensure I could keep playing while I waited for my new card to arrive. I doubt they'd do that for every account, unless you've got a history of payments with Blizzard.

[Pann]

I think you miss the point of faction/realm transfers. The whole point in them is to hold off the effects of faction/realm imbalance. If they had free transfers like rift then every single realm would be 99% one faction. And realms would be in a much much worse state then they are today. The only reason rift gets away with it is because you can raid/group and even be in the same guild as the other faction so realm balance does not matter. Sure they make some money along the way but they are a business after all.

Rewarding players for faction transfers and realm transfers would just add to the problem. Now I do wish they would reward players that have been playing many years with mounts, transmog gear and other fun things. No reward for having an 8 year old account isn't nice.

If the point of server and faction transfers is to hold off imbalances then I think it is safe to say with the amount of dead servers and faction imbalances they have been an unmitigated disaster. However if the purpose is an additional source of income I think they have served their purpose rather well.

Loyalty bonuses are always a nice way to reward customers, but we have to be honest with ourselves (and to Blizzard) and realise what we get for our £8.99 a month. We get unlimited access for 30 days to all the current content, that is updated all the time without additional charge (excluding Expansion Packs). There are optional extras that help you suit your gameplay, and have little or no major impact on the game.

Honestly, I when you really think about what you get in World of Warcraft, it really is value for money, and on that basis I don't feel they need to offer loyalty rewards. However, I do know (from personal experience) that Blizzard are more likely to be of greater assistance to you over the phone, if you've been with them for a while.

I had a situation where my card was stolen, and I couldn't recall my details to make my subscription payment. They gave me 5 days free game time, to ensure I could keep playing while I waited for my new card to arrive. I doubt they'd do that for every account, unless you've got a history of payments with Blizzard.

I must be playing a different game to you, my content is not updated all the time! I've only had a few dailies added the past five months.

Value is a subjective matter, although I do feel that WOW is worth the sub fee, but it is galling to see that competitors can provide the same kind of service without a sub fee, paying for expansions or even without the need to pay anything.

OP The closest we have had to what you are suggesting is the Annual Pass and what followed was a poor quality patch that lasted almost a year so if Blizzard start offering loyalty bonuses I would be rather wary.

[Creotor]

If it's discounted/free paid services, I see no problems with that. Vanity items is touchier. Titles, items with stats is a no-no.

[dalliah1]

I can't say I agree that the purpose of server transfers and faction changes are to balance out the population of realms. If that were the case, they wouldn't make us pay for it and they offer character moves to lower population realms from higher population ones once in a blue moon. The general population of people that pay 55 bucks are usually to go to a new raiding guild or to play with friends, etc. 30 dollars on top of 25 dollars isn't cheap.

Giving away vanity items wouldn't go over very well. At least for me personally, real life money > in game crap that 8 million other players will have for the same reason.

To add to my first paragraph, i'm sure not only me but others have been deceived by raiding guilds before. It's no different than politics sometimes, they'll tell you anything to get you along on their team and sometimes you don't discover the truth until it's too late. Once the money is spent, it's spent. Blizzard won't feel sorry for you and give you back the cash but if we had a special thingy like i'm talking about. let's say... after 3 server transfers, you get the 4th one free or at half price, etc..

[Bosen]

I think that's a great idea. Some perks wouldn't hurt.

[PuppetShowJustice]

I can't see this working out well pretty much no matter what; if the rewards aren't awesome people are just going to feel jipped. If the rewards are awesome then people who don't get them are going to feel jipped. Either way there is going to be mass outcry from at least one group. This is a no-win scenario for Blizzard.

I feel like the annual pass is as much of a customer loyalty system as we need, honestly.

[dalliah1]

I can't see this working out well pretty much no matter what; if the rewards aren't awesome people are just going to feel jipped. If the rewards are awesome then people who don't get them are going to feel jipped. Either way there is going to be mass outcry from at least one group. This is a no-win scenario for Blizzard.

I feel like the annual pass is as much of a customer loyalty system as we need, honestly.

The annual pass isn't a reward system though. It was more of a marketing strategy to keep more players on board and interested in the game while they waited for the next expansion and Diablo to come out.

[PuppetShowJustice]

I'm aware that is is sort of apples to oranges, though I maintain that is about as close to a reward structure for customer loyalty as they can approach without severely angering a large portion of the playerbase.

[dalliah1]

I'm aware that is is sort of apples to oranges, though I maintain that is about as close to a reward structure for customer loyalty as they can approach without severely angering a large portion of the playerbase.

Hmm, maybe. I'm having a difficult time seeing as how something like my idea would anger a large portion of the playerbase though. All it would be meant to do is save you a few pennies here and there. In order to save, you need to spend. If you don't, you stay neutral and you don't gain nor do you lose.

[Galaddriel]

I think you miss the point of faction/realm transfers. The whole point in them is to hold off the effects of faction/realm imbalance. If they had free transfers like rift then every single realm would be 99% one faction. And realms would be in a much much worse state then they are today. The only reason rift gets away with it is because you can raid/group and even be in the same guild as the other faction so realm balance does not matter. Sure they make some money along the way but they are a business after all.

Rewarding players for faction transfers and realm transfers would just add to the problem. Now I do wish they would reward players that have been playing many years with mounts, transmog gear and other fun things. No reward for having an 8 year old account isn't nice.

Because that's worked out real well, right?

There are like 10 megaservers and the rest are dead or dying. There's only a handful of servers that are anywhere close to being faction balanced.
$25 + a 3 day cooldown hasn't done anything except line Blizzard's pockets.

[Namarus]

I'm aware that is is sort of apples to oranges, though I maintain that is about as close to a reward structure for customer loyalty as they can approach without severely angering a large portion of the playerbase.

I'm not sure what game you are playing, it seems to me that a large portion of the playerbase are angry already.

[Tokru]

Some perks would be nice. Something little that's gives a very slight advantage (minor quality of life improvements) but is ansolutely not mandatory for anything. I think about something like an additional bag (or bank) slot after 2 years, an additional character slot after 3 and so on.

[PuppetShowJustice]

It would have to be able to credit people retroactively for previous paid services; otherwise they would understandably be angry. This seems way more trouble than it would be worth to implement. I can understand why people who use these services often would appreciate it though. /shrug

I feel like the same argument could sort of be made for people who obsessively buy the pet store mounts / pets. Blizzard could go "Oh, you buy a ton of pets. Have a discount on your next one" -- but why would they? If they have someone they know is going to be a repeat customer anyways, why go out of your way to make less money off them?

[Frolk]

As a loyal costumer for many years id like to have like 1 free char transfer/faction change free each month
Or maybe 10% discount for sub fee

[dalliah1]

As a loyal costumer for many years id like to have like 1 free char transfer/faction change free each month
Or maybe 10% discount for sub fee

Each month? Lol that's a little extreme considering the monthly fee is 14.99 and the server and faction changes are 25 and 30.

[Galaddriel]

With the way the exodus from low and mid pop servers is snowballing, Blizzard should make more from transfer fees this year than they do from subscription fees.

[Otimus]

Not at all related to this, but I sure as hell wish that WoW had a Legacy thing like TOR. I want a last name

That being said, I think some sort of simple, tiny thing wouldn't be a bad idea. Like someone subscribing for 10 year could get a tabard that says "10 Year Vet" or something? I don't know. Kind of like how on XBOX Live, you get a gold emblem showing how many years you've been active in your gamercard. It's something tiny, and something vaguely exclusive, but also of little real worth.

[Osmeric]

Since a truly loyal customer wouldn't quit anyway, what good would it do Blizzard? Seems like a waste of resources.

Instead, they should focus on borderline customers who have a chance of quitting, who could be swayed, and those who aren't currently playing, but could be lured back.