TCG Mounts

[Infinity Cubed]

No. Let rare things be rare.

Rare things aren't rare.

It's a weird believe some people have. WoW is an MMO in name only. When it comes down to it, the only people who matter are you, your guildmates, and your friends. No one gives a solitary fuck about anyone else in the game, what they have, what their achievements are, what mounts they have, or what gear they have. Even the rando group of randos you join to do some rando thing don't matter as you'll unlikely ever see them again (especially since they introduced crossrealms gaming way, way, way back in time).

It doesn't matter if only X people on the WHOLE SERVER, WOWEE WOW WOW!!!, have Y. They are totally inconsequential. They mean nothing, and their "rare" vanity item means nothing. You see it, you go "wow, whoopie for them" and that's it, that's the extent of it.

If item A, B, or C isn't possessed by anyone you actually game with, it might as well not exist at all.

Pretending that something in that game has value just because only a handful of people have it is, frankly, absurd.

[Phob]

Rare things aren't rare.

It's a weird believe some people have. WoW is an MMO in name only. When it comes down to it, the only people who matter are you, your guildmates, and your friends. No one gives a solitary fuck about anyone else in the game, what they have, what their achievements are, what mounts they have, or what gear they have. Even the rando group of randos you join to do some rando thing don't matter as you'll unlikely ever see them again (especially since they introduced crossrealms gaming way, way, way back in time).

It doesn't matter if only X people on the WHOLE SERVER, WOWEE WOW WOW!!!, have Y. They are totally inconsequential. They mean nothing, and their "rare" vanity item means nothing. You see it, you go "wow, whoopie for them" and that's it, that's the extent of it.

If item A, B, or C isn't possessed by anyone you actually game with, it might as well not exist at all.

Pretending that something in that game has value just because only a handful of people have it is, frankly, absurd.

Why else would you want it? Because IIRC most of these mounts were made before 2014 and "don't hold up well".

[wowrefugee]

Just give me an HD Swift Spectral Tiger.

Back in cata, I wanted it so bad. But now the games graphics have been upgraded so much, the original looks meh

[Diatribe]

TCG Mounts and Pets: Yes. We're past the point where the TCG was a viable means to acquiring them. Now, if they were still producing those same decks that had a chance at them, then it could remain exclusive to it, but We're 10+ years beyond the bulk of it.

[Romanthony]

I mean these days the mounts arnt that impressive, and personally, if i was to ho hunting for them it be to resell them since the Tiger is going for like 4 grand these days

Just reminds me when the Game grumps was doing a Lets play and ross bought them all a tiger, and they all thoughtit looked lame compared to the default flying mount

[haediff]

Yeah why have anything exclusive?? Just have everything available to everyone all the time! /s

You can’t always get what you want, if you miss out on something too bad don’t cry about it

[Raelbo]

No one deserves to be reimbursed for their gambling.

Nice strawman

Unless these people secured a contract from Blizzard (technically the only people who can reproduce these products), then their "investments" were based purely on speculation. Why are you arguing to keep their gambles safe when Blizzard has absolutely no need to recognize the secondary market activity that has made these items so expensive?

I am not arguing to "keep their gambles safe". I am arguing against Blizzard wrecking the (somewhat substantial) value of those mounts, not just for those who still have them unbound to sell, but also for those who have added them to their collections at whatever gold (or cash) price they paid.

You also have to remember that we don't actually own anything associated with our accounts. These people spent a lot of money for something that they don't even own once it's in the game (if they have the physical card with a still valid code then that's different).

And you would do well to remember that players are customers. Blizzard might not have legal obligation to protect the value of these things, but it would idiotic of them, from a business perspective, to piss off a bunch of players - especially the kind of player who is willing to invest that much into the game. And all for what? To pander to a bunch of - let's just say less committed - players who want something basically for free?

Either way, these people gambled, and like with most investments, there was no guarantee that they would (much less should) maintain their value. No one deserves to be reimbursed for their gambling.

Just because there is no guarantee isn't a reason for Blizzard to fuck with it. Whether it's deserved or not, why put anyone in the situation where they should feel they do? All Blizzard need to do is nothing.

It doesn't matter how many strawman arguments you want to try throwing at this. This isn't about gambling, or Blizzard owning your characters. It's about how you treat your players, your valued customers. And doing something unnecessary that upsets a bunch of customers is just stupid.

[Adamas102]

Nice strawman

I am not arguing to "keep their gambles safe". I am arguing against Blizzard wrecking the (somewhat substantial) value of those mounts, not just for those who still have them unbound to sell, but also for those who have added them to their collections at whatever gold (or cash) price they paid.

And you would do well to remember that players are customers. Blizzard might not have legal obligation to protect the value of these things, but it would idiotic of them, from a business perspective, to piss off a bunch of players - especially the kind of player who is willing to invest that much into the game. And all for what? To pander to a bunch of - let's just say less committed - players who want something basically for free?

Just because there is no guarantee isn't a reason for Blizzard to fuck with it. Whether it's deserved or not, why put anyone in the situation where they should feel they do? All Blizzard need to do is nothing.

It doesn't matter how many strawman arguments you want to try throwing at this. This isn't about gambling, or Blizzard owning your characters. It's about how you treat your players, your valued customers. And doing something unnecessary that upsets a bunch of customers is just stupid.

I don't think you understand what a straw man actually is...

Blizzard gains nothing from the secondary market for these items and the ludicrous prices these things have attained is no one's fault but the players' (the exceedingly tiny group that has been willing to drive prices so high). By suggesting that Blizzard should not only recognize but make an effort not to disrupt this secondary market you are most definitely arguing for them to protect things like speculative gambles (the people who have bought the mounts not to use but with the intent to sell at a higher price later).

You claim it is in the best interest of the customer for Blizzard to protect this ridiculous market (even though your argument only favors a veeeeery small portion of the customer base), while I'd argue the best thing Blizzard can do is to make sure that secondary market crumbles and ceases to exist. While it was certainly in Blizzard's best interest not to fuck with the licensing rights they gave the card dealers that no doubt included these in game items as selling points for the physical product, that product (the TCG) was discontinued almost 10 years ago.

Of course it would piss off a relatively small handful of people, but that would be a good lesson for them not to get embroiled in a secondary market for digital goods that cannot be sold/traded once used and have no guarantee to remain exclusive. And really, what are they going to do if Blizzard adds these mounts to the shop for $25? Suddenly quit the game they already spent thousands of dollars on?

If anything it would be in Blizzard's best interest to release these mounts (along with all the previously retired mounts) onto the shop.

[Usernameforforums]

I don't think you understand what a straw man actually is...

Blizzard gains nothing from the secondary market for these items and the ludicrous prices these things have attained is no one's fault but the players' (the exceedingly tiny group that has been willing to drive prices so high). By suggesting that Blizzard should not only recognize but make an effort not to disrupt this secondary market you are most definitely arguing for them to protect things like speculative gambles (the people who have bought the mounts not to use but with the intent to sell at a higher price later).

You claim it is in the best interest of the customer for Blizzard to protect this ridiculous market (even though your argument only favors a veeeeery small portion of the customer base), while I'd argue the best thing Blizzard can do is to make sure that secondary market crumbles and ceases to exist. While it was certainly in Blizzard's best interest not to fuck with the licensing rights they gave the card dealers that no doubt included these in game items as selling points for the physical product, that product (the TCG) was discontinued almost 10 years ago.

Of course it would piss off a relatively small handful of people, but that would be a good lesson for them not to get embroiled in a secondary market for digital goods that cannot be sold/traded once used and have no guarantee to remain exclusive. And really, what are they going to do if Blizzard adds these mounts to the shop for $25? Suddenly quit the game they already spent thousands of dollars on?

If anything it would be in Blizzard's best interest to release these mounts (along with all the previously retired mounts) onto the shop.

Blizzard has already made their money from the cards

[Phob]

I don't think you understand what a straw man actually is...

Blizzard gains nothing from the secondary market for these items and the ludicrous prices these things have attained is no one's fault but the players' (the exceedingly tiny group that has been willing to drive prices so high). By suggesting that Blizzard should not only recognize but make an effort not to disrupt this secondary market you are most definitely arguing for them to protect things like speculative gambles (the people who have bought the mounts not to use but with the intent to sell at a higher price later).

You claim it is in the best interest of the customer for Blizzard to protect this ridiculous market (even though your argument only favors a veeeeery small portion of the customer base), while I'd argue the best thing Blizzard can do is to make sure that secondary market crumbles and ceases to exist. While it was certainly in Blizzard's best interest not to fuck with the licensing rights they gave the card dealers that no doubt included these in game items as selling points for the physical product, that product (the TCG) was discontinued almost 10 years ago.

Of course it would piss off a relatively small handful of people, but that would be a good lesson for them not to get embroiled in a secondary market for digital goods that cannot be sold/traded once used and have no guarantee to remain exclusive. And really, what are they going to do if Blizzard adds these mounts to the shop for $25? Suddenly quit the game they already spent thousands of dollars on?

If anything it would be in Blizzard's best interest to release these mounts (along with all the previously retired mounts) onto the shop.

It wouldn't just piss the people off that have these mounts. It would ruin the relationship with all customers. Especially if they did all retired mounts like you want. Nothing would be worth anything and the game would crumble. Let rare things be rare. You don't want a spectral tiger that costs 25 bucks, it looks like shit. You want one that costs 1000, because its rare and unique to 3% of the player base.

[Makorus]

I would want them to add them just so the people who were stupid enough to spend stupid amount of money on virtual items on Ebay to bitch.

[Phob]

I would want them to add them just so the people who were stupid enough to spend stupid amount of money on virtual items on Ebay to bitch.

That's a stupid reason to want anything. "I want something so other people are mad". Go get a hobby and find something you truly enjoy. Making others mad isn't a healthy life choice.

[Makorus]

That's a stupid reason to want anything. "I want something so other people are mad". Go get a hobby and find something you truly enjoy. Making others mad isn't a healthy life choice.

Found someone who spent a grand on a virtual item lmao.

[Phob]

Found someone who spent a grand on a virtual item lmao.

If you would actually go through the thread and read things, maybe look at a picture you would find that not to be true. "lmao"

[Beefymoobs]

Definitely a big no for me, takes away the rarity of these items. I personally like seeing people with items that are either no longer obtainable or are just super rare in general. Keeps a certain wow factor in the game that I like.

[Adamas102]

It wouldn't just piss the people off that have these mounts. It would ruin the relationship with all customers. Especially if they did all retired mounts like you want. Nothing would be worth anything and the game would crumble. Let rare things be rare. You don't want a spectral tiger that costs 25 bucks, it looks like shit. You want one that costs 1000, because its rare and unique to 3% of the player base.

I'm not impressed by someone with a $20,000 Rolex, and I'm certainly not impressed by someone with a $1,000 digital tiger mount. You're right that I don't want a $25 mount (I don't spend money on mounts at all), much less a $1,000 mount. Why would anyone find it impressive that you opened a few card packs years ago, or spent a stupid amount of money on ebay?

I think the TCG cross promotion that Blizzard created when the game was only a couple of years old which spawned this secondary market of digital items was a mistake, and it would be best for them to bring these items back into the game. Yes, I acknowledge that a small group of players would be upset, but it absolutely would NOT ruin the relationship with all customers.

If anything, I think these things (the TCG items and retiring cosmetics) are bad for the longevity of the game. It might spur on a few players to participate in content they might not have otherwise, but it's mostly just a marketing tactic to tap into FOMO because a dollar in Blizzard's pocket NOW is better than a potential two dollars down the road. Meanwhile new players are less and less incentivized to stick around when they see how much of the game has been stripped away over the years.

Many (I'd wager MOST) players don't care about the rarity or exclusivity of cosmetics like these. They just want their character to LOOK cool. I have at least a dozen mounts that are retired/discontinued and I use maybe 2 of them depending on whether they fit the class/spec/transmog I'm playing. I don't care if they're brought back and other people are able to get them again. I either like the look or I don't, regardless of how unique they might be.

[Phob]

I'm not impressed by someone with a $20,000 Rolex, and I'm certainly not impressed by someone with a $1,000 digital tiger mount. You're right that I don't want a $25 mount (I don't spend money on mounts at all), much less a $1,000 mount. Why would anyone find it impressive that you opened a few card packs years ago, or spent a stupid amount of money on ebay?

I think the TCG cross promotion that Blizzard created when the game was only a couple of years old which spawned this secondary market of digital items was a mistake, and it would be best for them to bring these items back into the game. Yes, I acknowledge that a small group of players would be upset, but it absolutely would NOT ruin the relationship with all customers.

If anything, I think these things (the TCG items and retiring cosmetics) are bad for the longevity of the game. It might spur on a few players to participate in content they might not have otherwise, but it's mostly just a marketing tactic to tap into FOMO because a dollar in Blizzard's pocket NOW is better than a potential two dollars down the road. Meanwhile new players are less and less incentivized to stick around when they see how much of the game has been stripped away over the years.

Many (I'd wager MOST) players don't care about the rarity or exclusivity of cosmetics like these. They just want their character to LOOK cool. I have at least a dozen mounts that are retired/discontinued and I use maybe 2 of them depending on whether they fit the class/spec/transmog I'm playing. I don't care if they're brought back and other people are able to get them again. I either like the look or I don't, regardless of how unique they might be.

I'm glad you aren't running the game. Blizzard already made their money from the tcg as previously stated, putting them in the bnet store is just milking the customers for more money for 0 work. I and the majority of the playerbase would rather them make new things. And yes people care about exclusive shit, that's why there are people who play classic. They care about being the only ones with their warglaives and full bis. It's already gotten scaled so far down in wow that the only thing exclusive is mounts.

Taking away exclusivity is bad, giving players every single thing is bad. Without exclusivity, there is no wow factor to the game. And to continue the life of the game there needs to be at least something that people can wow at.

You don't wow at gear anymore, it's all transmog and you can get full BiS in a week now (running 15s is not hard)

You don't wow at titles anymore. (Everyone has them)

The only wow factor this game has is "wow thats a mount I havn't seen before/for a long time"

[minkage]

exclusivity absolutely matters.

Rare mounts/transmog/pets/titles are coveted! People spend ungodly amounts of time farming ultra rare drops for a reason.

[Adamas102]

I'm glad you aren't running the game. Blizzard already made their money from the tcg as previously stated, putting them in the bnet store is just milking the customers for more money for 0 work. I and the majority of the playerbase would rather them make new things. And yes people care about exclusive shit, that's why there are people who play classic. They care about being the only ones with their warglaives and full bis. It's already gotten scaled so far down in wow that the only thing exclusive is mounts.

Taking away exclusivity is bad, giving players every single thing is bad. Without exclusivity, there is no wow factor to the game. And to continue the life of the game there needs to be at least something that people can wow at.

You don't wow at gear anymore, it's all transmog and you can get full BiS in a week now (running 15s is not hard)

You don't wow at titles anymore. (Everyone has them)

The only wow factor this game has is "wow thats a mount I havn't seen before/for a long time"

Ha! You think Blizzard needs my advice to milk their customers for money with low effort promotions? They've been doing that well enough for years without my help. They've also recently added a few of the TCG toys back in the game via the TBC Classic Deluxe edition so it's not like they're completely against the idea.

You really think people play Classic for exclusivity when the player base now is far more endgame oriented than it was originally? Everything is more common in Classic. The two friends of mine who played (because they started in WotLK and Cata) were both in guilds that ran out of people to give legendary drops to. Even back in vanilla when epic raid sets were truly unique, most people simply didn't care enough to try to get them.

No one cares about AOTC mounts from two expansions ago. No one cares about gladiator mounts from 10 years ago. No one cares about stuff you can just buy if you feel like throwing enough money at it (and since the advent of the token and the BMAH, that encompasses a lot of stuff). It's not impressive. There's no "wow factor" (other than maybe "wow... you spent your money on THAT?").

I get that this stuff is important to you. That's cool and all if it makes you feel fulfilled, just understand that most people just play the game to have fun, not get wowed by shit some random stranger walks by with.

- - - Updated - - -

exclusivity absolutely matters.

Rare mounts/transmog/pets/titles are coveted! People spend ungodly amounts of time farming ultra rare drops for a reason.

As someone who spent an ungodly amount of time farming old world content for mounts and transmog, it wasn't because they were coveted by other people. It was because solo farming could be entertaining, relaxing, and sometimes provided a decent amount of gold. Maybe achievement hunting as well. Eventually getting the drop tickles that itch of having RNG go your way. It was never about what other people did or didn't have since almost all those mounts just end up stashed in your collection, never to be seen again.

[Makorus]

As someone who used to raid Mythic, I never gave a shit if people got all the transmogs or the mounts years after.

If the only reason something is cool or coveted because you can't get it anymore, or if the only reason you like something is because it's gone now, then that's just a bit sad.