it seems blizz heavily tries to utilize FOMO as a means of re/gaining subscribers

[Dhrizzle]

Original Mage Tower was FOMO back in Legion, this time around it is no more FOMO than than any other timewalking event.

[Lochton]

Whats wierd to me is when people say things like "oh shit, now I have to subscribe for a month or two to get these exclusive things... i hate this game, why do they make me do this" or something to that effect.

If someone really didn't like the game, then why would they care if there was time limited exclusive rewards? Really really strange.

It is a strange behavior, anything related to "FOMO" is. It is almost on the line of illness.

[Qnubi]

Jokes on them... I intentionally avoid doing limited time things because I find the practice despicable in a game. I play a game to relax on my time... not slave away during their proposed windows. It's a practice that should be stopped. As developers their job is to create content. Allow us to consume it at our own pace or discretion.

It's good to hear that other players feel the same way I do. It is such an anti-consumer practice. No wonder I started to enjoy single-player games more than MP ones. I wanna do the content when I want not when the company decides I am allowed to.

[diarx]

"Game is classified with these three letters - therefore they should make all content to fit with my idea of what those three letters mean!"

Dude, it's a genre.

Missed my point. Paying what is essentially an online access fee just to play the mage tower solo experience is ridiculous.

[Garymorilix]

"Blizzard don't do solo shit like the mage tower anymore, Blizzard sucks."
*Blizzard brings back Mage Tower*
"Blizzard makes me play the game, fuck Blizzard, Blizzard sucks."

We drift further apart from a civilized society every day. People be going full monke.

[Soon-TM]

"Blizzard don't do solo shit like the mage tower anymore, Blizzard sucks."
*Blizzard brings back Mage Tower*
"Blizzard makes me play the game, fuck Blizzard, Blizzard sucks."

We drift further apart from a civilized society every day. People be going full monke.

You'd maybe have a point if it was the same person (or group) saying that in rapid succession. Alas, the community isn't a hivemind, so for some people it's going to be good, for others it will be bad, others just won't care. Therefore, what you posted amounts to "Blizzard must not do any changes because of feedback", a close cousin of good ol' "Blizzard is always right" .

[NineSpine]

It is a strange behavior, anything related to "FOMO" is. It is almost on the line of illness.

It’s a destructive, negative behavior. So what does that say about a game that capitalizes on it and designs around it?

[FuxieDK]

That's how it seems to me at least. Especially this expansion.

What FOMO? Mage Tower?

It wasn't a very good piece of content, and will not draw back any amount of players worth mentioning.

[Thage]

That's how it seems to me at least. Especially this expansion.

This hasn't been new since Cataclysm, or WotLK if you count the announced removals of Naxx40 and Ony40, and removed raid mounts like the Naxx proto-drakes and Trial of the Crusader mounts. It kicked into high gear in 5.4 because they saw the short-term sub gains from the announced removal of CM sets, legendary cloak (and the questline that tied all the patches together) and Garrosh heirlooms/Kor'kron War Wolf, and every expansion since they've picked something to announce in the last patch would be getting removed with the next expansion launch. It got especially egregious in WoD with the legendary ring and associated questline, because the storyline at WoD endgame makes no sense without the legendary quest chain tying the lurching story pivots together with a metaplot.

They use it primarily as a means of mitigating sub loss in the end-of-expansion lulls.

[Lochton]

It’s a destructive, negative behavior. So what does that say about a game that capitalizes on it and designs around it?

It isn't the company's fault that someone is triggered about missing out on stuff?

[Dhrizzle]

It’s a destructive, negative behavior. So what does that say about a game that capitalizes on it and designs around it?

It works two ways. Having something available for a limited time should make it more satisfying and give drive to complete it in that time.

The unhealthy behaviour is people who make themselves miserable and get angry because they can't play the game at that particular time.

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

Honestly, if you do not plan on playing the game for an entire expansion you should fear missing out.
Its a game that many people have played weekly for over a decade, and people are expecting to take a year plus off and come back and everything they missed still be available?

Hard to understand that mentality.

But I grew up through Classic, and 90 percent of that was entirely removed thanks to Cataclysm, so I suppose I already went through the worst of it.

[Aggressive]

you are the reason trump was elected.

Read this Comment and cracked up....Hard

[shoc]

If you feel compelled to devote hundreds of hours of your life towards the acquisition of a 3D model in a mediocre game that is not shy about being designed specifically to exploit you for money... that's on you.

[Kalocy Jim]

If you feel compelled to devote hundreds of hours of your life towards the acquisition of a 3D model in a mediocre game that is not shy about being designed specifically to exploit you for money... that's on you.

But they don't design the game "specifically to exploit [us] for money"...

Since when is offering *GASP* optional services considered exploiting people? All business do this. Its not like they are forcing you in any way to buy the optional cosmetics and services.

[shoc]

But they don't design the game "specifically to exploit [us] for money"...

Since when is offering *GASP* optional services considered exploiting people? All business do this. Its not like they are forcing you in any way to buy the optional cosmetics and services.

The exploitation is the 15 dollars a month and the entire game being designed around a philosophy of 'just one more week...'

[Video Games]

Actually blizz did a really good job of curbing fomo for shadowlands. It's so bad, I want to miss out.

[NineSpine]

It isn't the company's fault that someone is triggered about missing out on stuff?

Everything about a game is the designers’ fault. They made it. How players interact with it is up to them, short of things like cheating.

If a game capitalizes on predatory behavior, that is the fault of the design.

[Aleksej89]

wtf is fomo

[NineSpine]

It works two ways. Having something available for a limited time should make it more satisfying and give drive to complete it in that time.

The unhealthy behaviour is people who make themselves miserable and get angry because they can't play the game at that particular time.

The design is encouraging the unhealthy behavior in a predatory attempt to get people to subscribe.

Game design is psychology. You incentivize players to do things by making the activities and/or the rewards provide positive emotions. That’s good game design. Bad game design is when you throw out fun and try to incentivize players based on avoiding negative emotions. That’s what this kind of FOMO-driven design does. Rather than saying “look at this amazing thing to do and the cool stuff you get from succeeding at it” they say “do you want to feel like you missed out later?”

It’s the same design that drives predatory mobile games.