Would you play on a server where boosting was banned?

[Daffan]

I thought you meant boosting like level boost lol.


Nobody has a problem with boosting inherently. The real problem is the WoW token > Gold > Boost pipeline.

There's no problem with someone farming up gold themselves via means in game than buying a boost, but using real world wealth to get ahead is seen as 'icky', and I would agree with that point of view.

[Malania]

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That is not a valid argument, the gold that gold sellers trade is not "generated" either. Blizzard is still doing the thing they always told people not to do, sell out of game services for ingame currency (or vice versa). It is just masked by token.

It's perfectly valid for the developer to break their own rules. You don't have to support them but it's their game.

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I thought you meant boosting like level boost lol.


Nobody has a problem with boosting inherently. The real problem is the WoW token > Gold > Boost pipeline.

There's no problem with someone farming up gold themselves via means in game than buying a boost, but using real world wealth to get ahead is seen as 'icky', and I would agree with that point of view.

Why? What's the difference if someone spends 2 weeks playing the AH or bought the gold. Gold is gold. What is the fundamental reason that buying game time off someone using your gold is worse than buying an enchant off someone?

[Elbryan]

#make a level limit!
which then makes it useless for lowbies trying to find groups to quest plus since everyone's doing it for RMT they pry make enough money to boost a toon or can quickly level something and start the process over

Already exist, you can't use the LFG tool until lvl 50

[TidalConflux]

Funny thing about blanket statements like "actual issues with the game". Those "issues" will vary drastically depending on who your talking to.

I agree, but I dont know on what planet any of those ideas outside boost/cross-realm are considered good for the game.

[FarmerEd]

To what extent does boosting affect you? It ruins the economy somewhat?

To what extent would forcing pugging affect you? It sure as hell would have a far more dire impact on my end. WoW is no fun without a guild/ organized group of friends.
I suspect that OP is playing the game "wrong" in terms of enjoyment, and I seriously hope that you get the chance to experience the fun of playing with a good guild one day.

[Daffan]

Why? What's the difference if someone spends 2 weeks playing the AH or bought the gold. Gold is gold. What is the fundamental reason that buying game time off someone using your gold is worse than buying an enchant off someone?

Because it's a game and people feel better when they are 'competing' against other people's in-game skill/time/effort investments rather than real world? Some people feel it devalues in-game stuff?

Y should someone's real world wealth impact the game at all?

[Queen of Hamsters]

No, I would not.

[Lady Atia]

Because it's a game and people feel better when they are 'competing' against other people's in-game skill/time/effort investments rather than real world? Some people feel it devalues in-game stuff?

Y should someone's real world wealth impact the game at all?

Because gaming should be a form of entertainment, not sports (and well, even in sports I can use money to get better equipment/training lessons etc) or some kind of contest? Why do you care if someone else buys something within the game with real money, it doesn't affect you at all. Or do you need the game to caress your ego?

[The One Percent]

I sell boosts so going to have to go with no.

[XDurionX]

The main problem is blizzard allowing boosting to flourish via the wow token. It should really be removed from the game given the harm its done.

Pretty naive to think gold buying would depend on the token.

[Daffan]

Because gaming should be a form of entertainment, not sports (and well, even in sports I can use money to get better equipment/training lessons etc) or some kind of contest? Why do you care if someone else buys something within the game with real money, it doesn't affect you at all. Or do you need the game to caress your ego?

It's more fun my way.

The end. I win.

[Malania]

Because it's a game and people feel better when they are 'competing' against other people's in-game skill/time/effort investments rather than real world? Some people feel it devalues in-game stuff?

Y should someone's real world wealth impact the game at all?

That's a rather loaded question given you play a game with a subscription model. Some people pay the sub with real world wealth and some people can't afford it (obviously not everyone who buys tokens, but some) and pay with gold. Should they be excluded from the game due to real world income issues? At this point where is the separation between gold and money. People have always bought gold in game. Now they can do so without voiding the TOS and people can use the gold to play the game.

I think in the shrinking population, any method that let's people to continue to play and keep the community and game active is good.

[cparle87]

Uh, yeah no.

I thought you meant boosting as a sold service by players was banned. If that were the case, then yes. The WoW you just described sounds like a dumpster fire.

It's yet another Pandora's Box that Blizzard opened out of greed without thinking of the impact it'd have on the game long-term.

When the tokens first became available in WoD I felt like I watched WoW die. Gold is effectively just real money in a digital form and you can't and shouldn't ever bring that into a game.

And before then people would just go to websites to buy their boosts. Maybe they'd give away their account info for a free max level and max professions, have someone play their toon through SWP. Then down the line their account gets stolen, gets used to bot, gets banned. Boostee cries to Blizzard "I got banned and dindunuffin!" Blizz has to go through the trouble of confirming the crier is the actual account holder, then decide if they're gonna unban them. If they'll let them keep any of the stuff the botter gained or anything they gained from the boost. All the while the boostee hasn't noticed a ton of charges rung up on the credit card that he uses to pay his sub. And you know damn well there's at least one guy who has tried to sue Blizzard cause fraud was put on their credit card. Just look at the "I spilled hot coffee in the my lap and sued McDonalds for millions" lady.

In short, the explosion in boosting has more to do with the huge amount of gold players got in WoD. The token does not create gold, it actually removes it from the economy. While also cutting down on the stuff I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Screaming that it "killed WoW" or "is just a symptom of Blizzard's greed" aren't looking at why it was implemented and what it helps fix.

[Visor]

Would you play on a server where boosting was banned?
1. No cross realm.
2. No transfers.
3. All group content like M+, raids, and PvP are conducted via automatic matchmaker (AMM). You cannot form groups on your own to prevent boosting.

Actually this isn't good idea . Lets think how it can work. Somebody created ally char on TM or another 95-99% horde populated realm. He cannot find ANY group. Not just matchmaking. Just ANY. So he can't actually not pve not pvp. Nothing drops from world bosses. So he can't impove his gear at all. And have to suffer permantly. Ofc you can create the game where ppl will be tortured like this. But what a profit?

Also what is boost? If your gladiator friend played with you who never get even 1400 but u got 2k. This is boost or "just friend help"? You always actually boosted by somebody until you are not top1 in raid. If you r beat encounter but you are died at start of the encounter - what is it? "team work"? You was boosted. And get some gear probably. When your efforts was zero or even negative.

I dont like boosts only for 1 reason - impossible to read /2 channel. So I deactivated it completely. In other cases who cares?

[Crimson Spears]

Pretty naive to think gold buying would depend on the token.

The lion's share of it does. Yes people bought gold when it wasn't supported by the company but far fewer did to pretend otherwise seems silly.

[Irian]

And before then people would just go to websites to buy their boosts. Maybe they'd give away their account info for a free max level and max professions, have someone play their toon through SWP. Then down the line their account gets stolen, gets used to bot, gets banned. Boostee cries to Blizzard "I got banned and dindunuffin!" Blizz has to go through the trouble of confirming the crier is the actual account holder, then decide if they're gonna unban them. If they'll let them keep any of the stuff the botter gained or anything they gained from the boost. All the while the boostee hasn't noticed a ton of charges rung up on the credit card that he uses to pay his sub. And you know damn well there's at least one guy who has tried to sue Blizzard cause fraud was put on their credit card. Just look at the "I spilled hot coffee in the my lap and sued McDonalds for millions" lady.

In short, the explosion in boosting has more to do with the huge amount of gold players got in WoD. The token does not create gold, it actually removes it from the economy. While also cutting down on the stuff I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Screaming that it "killed WoW" or "is just a symptom of Blizzard's greed" aren't looking at why it was implemented and what it helps fix.

The token directly and legally allows you to buy gold for real money. Third-party websites are too much of a risk for the huge majority of the playerbase, if they even know those sites exist. If you really can't see the difference between dubious gold selling sites and Blizzard directly doing it themselves then I really don't know what to tell you.

Yes, the token killed WoW for me. I don't want to play a game where, thanks to carries, you can literally just buy your way to full clears of mythic and +15 every week. Putting a direct real money value on a game currency is never ever a smart idea.

[Daffan]

That's a rather loaded question given you play a game with a subscription model. Some people pay the sub with real world wealth and some people can't afford it (obviously not everyone who buys tokens, but some) and pay with gold. Should they be excluded from the game due to real world income issues? At this point where is the separation between gold and money. People have always bought gold in game. Now they can do so without voiding the TOS and people can use the gold to play the game.

I think in the shrinking population, any method that let's people to continue to play and keep the community and game active is good.

A sub is a fixed cost. It's not a bottomless pit where you can buy a sub infinite times for some inherent gain.

RMT is definitely a thing, however it was a fraction of the percentage it is now via legal means, and 'illegal' in terms of game terminology lol.

Probably the most annoying thing is how now you are contently comparing in-game activities to real min wage per hour profit. And nothing stacks up at all. not even close. A ratio of 30:1 in-favor of working real hours at min wage.

[khazmodan]

If you want to stop or slow down boosting, Blizz needs to stop selling gold.

THIS RIGHT HERE, exactly right, until Blizz looks at the game and sets policy for the long term fun social experience, the pressure to make cash grab design decisions will continue.

[Flaks]

If you want to stop or slow down boosting, Blizz needs to stop selling gold.

Yup, RMT gold buying would constantly and consistently be banned in waves throughout the life of this game. Just because it's always existed doesn't mean it's always been acceptable. Blizzard made it acceptable by introducing the WoW token and essentially decimated the foundation of this game two-fold: 1. by funneling every player into nothing but end game content and 2. allowing the WoW token to feed directly into this mentality.

WoW Classic was a perfect chance for them to realize how the game should have been but instead they allowed RMT/boosting/botting services to get way out of control thereby allowing them the excuse of considering WoW token/micro transactions for classic servers.

[Very Tired]

Not going to comment on the boosting stuff, but the rest of those suggestions look like a solid foundation for an ironman character from Runescape. Which could always be interesting, although WoW isn't built in exactly the same way. Heck, when I played WoW I barely touched the AH at all.