Is WoW Pay 2 Win?

[McNeil]

It depends on how you define P2W. Many will say that it means gaining an advantage which would otherwise not be obtainable, but to me it means gaining any advantage by saving a lot of time that other players have to spend on. If you were to join a new P2W game very early on, the people who spend a lot of money will obviously have a huge advantage because the F2P players didn't have enough time to grind the better stuff themselves to compete. Pretty much everything in WoW is obtainable by using real money which is also why this boosting meta has become a cancer. I'm leaning more towards the game being P2W, its just that it knows how to hide it better than most other games.

[Digitally_Atomic]

It's legitimately worrying how many people don't see WoW as pay to win as it currently stands...

[MoanaLisa]

It's legitimately worrying how many people don't see WoW as pay to win as it currently stands...

It doesn't matter because only a few people care.

Most MMO's that I'm aware of—even the ones that charge subscriptions or has a higher tier of membership that needs to be paid for to get nice monthly rewards—has a method for exchanging real money for game currency. People are treating WoW as if this is some unique thing. It's not. The argument is tedious and stupid at this point because the practice is ubiquitous. People raging at Blizzard for providing a safe way to purchase gold are implicitly in favor of doing it the old way: getting it from outside vendors who take over accounts and run them dry.

There is very little to win in PVE content and whatever it is that you think you won is worthless a few months later. If you think that buying gold is such a travesty don't do it. Otherwise mind your own damn business. If you don't care for people telling you what to do with their time and money then return the favor. If Blizzard is such a horror for doing this then please, visit the forums for every other game that does this and let them know.

You want to fix this? Do something about boosts.

Make raid drops only go to guild members that have been members of their guild for a full reset. Have a fourteen-day cooldown after leaving a guild before you can trade loot above a certain ilevel with other players or receive personal loot in an M+ or raid instance. Kill the pugging scene except for those who just want to run the raid. Hell, it might even revive guilds a little.

If someone is paying hundreds of dollars buying gold so they can get a piece of shiny loot through a boost JFC let them. It keeps the subscription rate down.

[TheWorkingTitle]

Has been since WoD, when they officially sanctioned buying gold for real money.

Buy wow gold for real money, use wow gold to buy Mythic level BoEs or boosts/carries/gear funnels, and you have just skipped days, weeks, and even months of normal play with your real money.

It's unequivocal at this point.

[FelPlague]

WRONG.

Many mobile games that are pay to win don't sell or facilitate the selling of actual items of power. The sell or facilitate the sale of currency. Like gold in wow.
.

you fucking serious? lolololool i can tell you right now, most mobile games literally sell actual items, and lootboxes that contain items, yes lots also do currency, but most of them do items. and even those that DO do currency, allow you to buy items DIRECTLY wiht the currency.

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It's legitimately worrying how many people don't see WoW as pay to win as it currently stands...

because by the logic we have, its always been pay to win.

a rich person who does not have to work to survive can easily afford to play all day every day.
a rich person who has the money to buy multiple computers and accounts can multibox.
a rich person can buy gold from websites.

[Darkeon]

Yes; It's still Pay-2-Win since the last time we discussed it.

[Itori]

having the ability to use real game money to buy gold tokens to use to buy BOE upgrades to get into current content isn't something i would really call pay to win. Pay to win is if you can spend real money, gain a huge advantage and basically buy your way to the top of the leaderboards, buying gear that gets you in the door isn't pay to win, sorry.

[Schmittay]

having the ability to use real game money to buy gold tokens to use to buy BOE upgrades to get into current content isn't something i would really call pay to win. Pay to win is if you can spend real money, gain a huge advantage and basically buy your way to the top of the leaderboards, buying gear that gets you in the door isn't pay to win, sorry.

I agree. People are arguing over semantics about what exactly they are paying for. Pay to win is a term used for one thing: having an advantage over someone who is not able to achieve the same thing without using real life money.

If you are talking about buying carries or BoEs that ANYONE can get, without using a credit card is not pay to win.

End of discussion.

[arkanon]

I agree. People are arguing over semantics about what exactly they are paying for. Pay to win is a term used for one thing: having an advantage over someone who is not able to achieve the same thing without using real life money.

If you are talking about buying carries or BoEs that ANYONE can get, without using a credit card is not pay to win.

End of discussion.

Why do you use this definition? It is often added "sometimes not available in game" but it is not the core of the definition at all. Why do you think it is?

Just a friendly heads up - adding "end of discussion" just shows you REALLY don't want anyone to correct you on this, because I'm guessing it's the only argument you have.

[Kithelle]

Yes; It's still Pay-2-Win since the last time we discussed it.

Except it wasn't then and it isn't now either

[Lora]

WoW became p2w the second tokens were introduced.

[Kithelle]

having the ability to use real game money to buy gold tokens to use to buy BOE upgrades to get into current content isn't something i would really call pay to win. Pay to win is if you can spend real money, gain a huge advantage and basically buy your way to the top of the leaderboards, buying gear that gets you in the door isn't pay to win, sorry.

That is the definition of pay to win...you got it right. They just ignore the facts and call it pay to win simply for the fact they want another excuse to hate on Blizzard

[arkanon]

That is the definition of pay to win...you got it right. They just ignore the facts and call it pay to win simply for the fact they want another excuse to hate on Blizzard

So just to be clear - a game where you buy "gems" and those gems can be used to purchase endgame bis sets - that's not p2w?

[Kithelle]

So just to be clear - a game where you buy "gems" and those gems can be used to purchase endgame bis sets - that's not p2w?

It's not pay to win...it's pay to catch up

Pay to win would be if said sets were only obtainable by spending money

[arkanon]

It's not pay to win...it's pay to catch up

Pay to win would be if said sets were only obtainable by spending money

Where did you get that definition from? That is certainly an example of p2w, and the most egregious example, but very uncommon.

[|Dexter|]

If you pay the right boosters you can be on top of the PVE and PVPers lists so in one way it is...

[Darkeon]

Except it wasn't then and it isn't now either

Factually false.

You are able to directly purchase power through the in-game store.

Was the situation back when this thread popped up and it's still the situation now. Stop lying and one day you might have a better game.

[masterhorus8]

So, I wanna check something here... Are the top end raiders able to "p2w" with their dollarydoos? Because, so far, all I'm seeing are people that aren't "winning" getting the benefit of "paying to win" off the back of the people that "won".

[Schmittay]

Why do you use this definition? It is often added "sometimes not available in game" but it is not the core of the definition at all. Why do you think it is?

Just a friendly heads up - adding "end of discussion" just shows you REALLY don't want anyone to correct you on this, because I'm guessing it's the only argument you have.

Because all these bastardised versions of the meaning are wrong. Can you only buy items using real life currency that puts you above players who don't buy it?

If the answer is no, then it isn't.

In WoW, I'd say it's pay for convenience.

[arkanon]

Because all these bastardised versions of the meaning are wrong. Can you only buy items using real life currency that puts you above players who don't buy it?

If the answer is no, then it isn't.

Bastardized? So all the definitions online that dont agree with what you say are wrong, and your personal, and vastly different definition is the right one?

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So, I wanna check something here... Are the top end raiders able to "p2w" with their dollarydoos? Because, so far, all I'm seeing are people that aren't "winning" getting the benefit of "paying to win" off the back of the people that "won".

For the 400th time, the term "pay to win" does not require "winning", but rather gaining an advantage.