BFA subs, and someone's probably getting fired

[Relapses]

The mount was planned but I am not sure that data linking it to the 6 month sub promo was ever datamined. If not, then it was probably pulled and used in the promo as an emergency to stop bleeding subs.

Even if they DID plan this for a 6-month promo, it just means that they had no confidence in the ability of the expansion to retain players... because you should NEVER need a special retention promo in the first 2 months of a brand new expansion.

There doesn't have to be any "greater meaning" behind anything that Blizzard does. These types of promotions aren't designed to entice players to stay subscribed to a dying game, they're bonuses for people who were likely going to buy the subscription anyway.

[KaPe]

pretty much. I mean they were doing this before blizzard gave out the information, but now they don't these same doomsayers need unsubstantiated sources to feed that ego boost.

Not only that, but any denial is met with conspiracy theory. Doesn't matter if it's Blizzard or the WA author himself. As long as Blizzard doesn't admit that WoW is dying, they are clearly lying and anyone claiming otherwise is a white knight.

I mean, even ignoring everything else - 50% people using Weak Auras? Seriously? I doubt 50% of *raiders* are using that, nevermind half of the entire playerbase. I'm surprised the guy didn't go "this seems a little high, it can't be right" before posting unverified informations and starting this shitstorm.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

More and more people need to admit that WoD wasn't all that bad. You know it to be true.

Give it another 2-4 years.

People look back fondly on Cataclysm now.

[alturic]

Pretty much this. If sub numbers (or their equivalent) were good or even just increasing, then Blizzard would be shouting it from the treetops.

Bliz used sub numbers as both a selling tool for potential players and as reassurance for investors. So long as those numbers were good, it was a VERY win/win situation for them.

The fact that they are not reported pretty much assures that that things are not well. The only real question is how bad it really is.

I don't know how it is in the "corporate" world, but I would have no problem mentioning numbers until it started declining over a period of time. Even if subs were 8, 9 million that still looks bad to investors, since it was once over 12 million. So investors would say "gee, we need new blood at this company, why can't your sustain 12million? why can't you gain new users, why can't you get those users back", etc.

[wombinator04]

Give it another 2-4 years.

People look back fondly on Cataclysm now.

Cataclysm was a genuinely amazing expansion for non max level content. The max level content was pretty good, though. Really, what people hated was Dragon Soul being not good, and also being stuck with it for a loooong time.

[alturic]

Give it another 2-4 years.

People look back fondly on Cataclysm now.

The only shit part about cata was the DS patch. After that WoW tanked.

[Xalea]

When "the truth" is an extrapolation you've made from incomplete data that was procured from an unreliable source on a website whose only purpose is to publish exploits... you don't have much of a solid foundation for an argument.

In the eyes of the WoW community, the game is always dying for one reason or another. Players just want "proof" so they can smugly boast about their opinions being valid. This is the reason subscriber levels are no longer published.

You are in what's called "denial."

[Wingspan]

More and more people need to admit that WoD wasn't all that bad. You know it to be true.

To people who don’t care about competing in any sense, it is probably as good as it has ever been (unless you loved flight, then maybe not).

To anyone who does enjoy a feeling of competition, it seems to be failing in many areas.

I won’t judge as to if either style of play is more important than the other.

[Xalea]

Perhaps. But 1.7 is too low. It would be a shitstorm on blizz offices and heads rolling and much more damage control and listening to feedbacks

- - - Updated - - -

All hands on deck situation.

You would think, wouldn't you? They are so arrogant and full of hubris they actually think things are fine, even with 1.7 million western subs. That's how lost in space the current dev/management team is.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Cataclysm was a genuinely amazing expansion for non max level content. The max level content was pretty good, though. Really, what people hated was Dragon Soul being not good, and also being stuck with it for a loooong time.

The only shit part about cata was the DS patch. After that WoW tanked.

Heroics massively overtuned at launch. Most of the zones were cheap pop culture gags. Goblins and Worgen were barely involved in the 80-85 storyline (which coming off BElves and Draenei was an unexpected shift). The new talent system (where you could no longer double or triple-dip) was liked by basically no one. And eventually Blizz pushed the nuclear button of blaming the Old World Revamp for how bad the 80-endgame experience was.

[Relapses]

You are in what's called "denial."

Yeah, I guess I missed the memo. Let me try this again: Fuck everything Blizzard says, they know the game is dying and anybody who even tries to look at the information with any pragmatism is clearly a paid shill.

[KaPe]

You are in what's called "denial."

Doesn't this apply to you as well? You instantly bought into something that was supposedly based on "Blizzard API", except no one really saw that, no one really knows what was there (because if it didn't include China, you can easily double those numbers, except it wouldn't sound nearly as "dead" at that point) and there's zero proof it even existed in the first place. But since it "proves" your opinion about WoW, clearly it's you who are in the right. Hypocrisy at its' finest.

[Yunaqt]

Wow, cool story I guess.
Same shit, different day.

[Lurker1]

I'm sure it's been asked in here, but I don't understand how a Blizzard API leaking subscription data is somehow correlated to WeakAura user count?

It's not for starters here is a mindblowing thing I DON'T USE THAT ADDON! so that alone proves the info is hot garbage and im sure alot of other people don't as well.

[Xalea]

Yeah, I guess I missed the memo. Let me try this again: Fuck everything Blizzard says, they know the game is dying and anybody who even tries to look at the information with any pragmatism is clearly a paid shill.

Well you have to admit many people are unhappy with the game in its current state. There's a 3.3 rating on Metacritic, tons of unhappy posts in the official forums, etc. It is a little silly to believe that everything is fine. I already suspected a massive sub loss over the past two months (I was in Alpha and Beta and was pretty sure it would take 3-4 months until people saw how bad BfA was - it ended up happening sooner). When Ion did the AMA and then the 6 month mount, I knew it was *super* bad. And now we get this data that only seems to confirm it.

So again, it seems kind of ostrich-like to have your head buried in the sand thinking WoW is okay, because it's clearly not okay. I *want* it to be better and to thrive, but the current dev/leadership team needs to move on and let some better people take the wheel.

[Wingspan]

There doesn't have to be any "greater meaning" behind anything that Blizzard does. These types of promotions aren't designed to entice players to stay subscribed to a dying game, they're bonuses for people who were likely going to buy the subscription anyway.

Blizzard is a business, and a very large one at that. Almost nothing they do is done with no meaning or purpose. Some things may not work as planned, but there is always a plan.

It affects too many people (employees, their families, investors, etc) to just do random things with no purpose.

This was absolutely done for a purpose and not a freebie for funsies.

[Perkunas]

More and more people need to admit that WoD wasn't all that bad. You know it to be true.

Sans the garrison, shitty story, mission table, shipyard, and alternative universe dilemma it left us with.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Sans the garrison, shitty story, mission table, shipyard, and alternative universe dilemma it left us with.

Which will all be forgotten in a few years when people breeze through WoD content so fast they all forget how boring the Garrison was at max level, and how the storyline fell apart hard after the leveling experience, and that the shipyard even existed, and that the AU was ever a mess and wasn't just a giant setup for the Mag'har Allied Race.

[Perkunas]

It's not for starters here is a mindblowing thing I DON'T USE THAT ADDON! so that alone proves the info is hot garbage and im sure alot of other people don't as well.

They noted that it looked like around half of the projected actually used WA. So, yeah... While not an exact number it's definitely within the realm of possibility.

- - - Updated - - -

Which will all be forgotten in a few years when people breeze through WoD content so fast they all forget how boring the Garrison was at max level, and how the storyline fell apart hard after the leveling experience, and that the shipyard even existed, and that the AU was ever a mess and wasn't just a giant setup for the Mag'har Allied Race.

So Superman 64 was a great video game after all!

[bigbleach]

Oof, that's rough. Looks like a lot of people doing the "WoD 2.0" chant aren't too far off the mark.

In all honesty... do you think 50% of the playerbase really use weakauras..? That alone should be a redflag.