Players with store helmets being kicked out of LFR and LFG

[MoanaLisa]

I agree, but it has turned to fact. Pets to mounts to transmog items, that's a slope no matter how you wish to dress up what the items are for. It started with an in game pet that did nothing, nothing at all but looked cool and counted towards and achievement, it then went to mounts, that did something for your character. It saved you in game currency and added towards an achievement.

The slope that matters to arguably more people is stats and current tier stats at that. I'm not discounting what you're saying but I suspect you'll never convince anyone that cosmetic stuff is truly worth going to the mat over. I'm not saying you're wrong. Just tilting at windmills right now.

[DakonBlackblade]

So let me see if I get this, buying mounts and pets from blizstore is fine but a xmog helm isnt ? How does that make any sense. Im dying for them to implement microtransactions, letting us buy lesser charms for money would be great Id never again do 1 daily quest in my life and buy the shit out of them.

[unholyness]

Blizzard can do what they want. It's not gonna stop me from protesting their itemshop. If they start banning people for it, then they'll just lose even more subscribers, considering how very disgruntled many people already seem to be. Customers aren't just lapdogs that will roll over and keep giving you their money if you keep annoying them.

It's funny how Blizzard never cared to intervene when people used to get harassed and kicked for completely unwarranted reasons from LFG and LFR before, when people constantly made valid complaints on the forums that the LFD and LFR kicksystem sucked balls and was being abused, but oh boy, when some of their $$ is involved they're there as fast as they can!

Losing these kinds of people isn't exactly a loss to the game, if anything it is a blessing in disguise.

[shanthi]

I'm going to die laughing if Blizz started monitoring LFR chats for this sort of thing due to people in this very thread bragging about their antisocial behavior.

They don't need to monitor LFR chats. When a person reports, their recent chat logs are automatically sent with the report. So if Blizzard deems this harassment, they can pretty easily take action.

[Thage]

It's true that by standards of the modern west, growing up often is equated with: "realize you've to shut up and be docile about everything".

Growing up means not being a sociopath and learning that other people have different values. Being an asshole to someone for buying a helmet because you don't like the cash shop is nothing but you being an asshole. Best case scenario you get warned, worst case scenario you get your three-day vacation and Blizzard continues on without a second thought, and the people you were an asshole to forget you even exist before dinner.

edit: You want to oppose the cash shop? Cool, go for it. Cancel your account and type in 'Opposition to Microtransactions,' or make a post on the o-boards against it. Being a tool in LFG/LFR isn't going to send some message, it's not going to serve some higher, lofty goal. It just makes you a tool.

[unholyness]

As for my answer to the topic, players feel a deep hatred and resent for something Blizzard said would never happen - Selling gear for real money. Although these add no special benefits, I think the deep hatred comes from the price tag. Instead of adding meaningful content that players would be satisfied with, they added a trio of helmets that's 15 dollars each.

That's a full month of game time and an extremely ridiculous charge for a useless product. It makes us think that Blizzard thinks we're all dumb cash cows to milk until we're dry and sheep to shear until they're completely bald. It's insulting, on some odd level. And you can protest by not buying a shit product, but regardless of your protest, people will still buy a damn product. In a way, showing that some of your fellows would pay for such a cheap, poorly constructed cash grab enrages you. Automatically you want to dissociate with that person to show that you're against this blatant milking. It's a normal human reaction to disassociate with people you think are doing wrong.

So am I against people being kicked? No.

It is purely cosmetic so who cares? Pets are ok? Mounts? Getting D3 for free because you sign a contract is ok but spending a measly $15 for something effects your player in no way for progression isn't ok. To me it sounds like a lot of posters need to go get a J O B.

[Shedeo]

I like it and find it quite funny. If being kicked out of an LFR or LFD prevents even one person from buying the next thing from the cash shop then it's a successful action imo. The cash shop is a pile of crap and never should be used by anyone. All it's giving way to is them actually putting something that does affect game play on the shop cause they know they'll make money.

Because of this post, and others like it, I decided to purchase all three of them for myself, then for my girlfriend, and another friend of mine who has been lusting after at least two of them.

I will probably never use them, but I never had a problem with the cash shop. I never really much cared about it either. But I don't like this sentiment, so at least Blizz benefited from it.

[Goldfingaz]

Okay; I read your post. This, "Where does this end? Where should the people opposed to such a path start to protest? When you deem that Blizzard has officially gone too far? Then it would be too late." is a slippery slope argument. Even though your question is obviously a rhetorical one, I will answer it anyway by repeating what I said earlier. The moment a microtransaction gives even 1 DPS, HPS, or EHP, I will be the first person to get out a pitch fork and condemn Blizzard. And the idea that it will somehow be "too late" is speculation on your part with no evidence to back it up. It's never too late to complain and get something changed when you're the one keeping something afloat. If complaining on the forums doesn't work, I will speak with my money and unsub if and when microtransactions provide an in game benefit.

Also, "Instead of Blizzard improving the quality of their game, to make more money, they throw items at the player base for a quick buck. That's why they are doing it, and that is the only reason, and you're letting them do it.

So, people opposed to the micro-transactions, aren't just against some Transmog Helmets, they are against Blizzard making a quick buck, rather than improving the quality of the game and bringing more subs t the game."

Making more money by improving the quality of the game and making more money by adding microtransactions are not mutually exclusive. The team that designs the helmets are not the same people responsible for programming the raids, or writing the story, or translating the game into other languages, or cleaning the office cubicles or anything else that a game company needs to make shit happen.

The problem of waiting until they add stats to start complaining, it will be too late. Did you notice how long it took them to put these helms in the in-game store from announcement? Five days. Not enough time for people to give enough feedback to stop it, do you think they maybe planned it that way? What's to say they won't do the same thing IF (I really don't like "what if") they do add gear/items with stats or increase the effectiveness of your game play? There is no doubt they released the content as fast as possible to avoid a lot of the uproar, and once it was up there, there was no going back from it. The cost to refund everyone and take the item back would be far to great.

I understand that the people making the helms weren't taken off any projects (That we know of), my point was more along the lines of: If they make a substantial amount of money off of these helms, they won't need to worry as much about content as these quick items will fill in the blanks for lost subscriptions. Yes, it is speculation, but it's the kind of speculation that needs serious consideration from the player base. You can't just sit there and hope Blizzard isn't doing it this way because it will be too late once they are actually doing it this way.

The slope that matters to arguably more people is stats and current tier stats at that. I'm not discounting what you're saying but I suspect you'll never convince anyone that cosmetic stuff is truly worth going to the mat over. I'm not saying you're wrong. Just tilting at windmills right now.

It's better off to stop it before it even has a chance to get too far. I would like or you to read the first of my post here about waiting to complain.

Also, I do hope no one thinks I'm coming off angry or anything, I'm just trying to give a thought out explanation as to why people are and (In my opinion) should be against these ideas.

[shanthi]

It's true that by standards of the modern west, growing up often is equated with: "realize you've to shut up and be docile about everything".

At least you have better pesudo-intellectual justifications than the typical drunken disorderly would. I'll give you credit for that.

[Yarathir]

Blizzard can do what they want. It's not gonna stop me from protesting their itemshop. If they start banning people for it, then they'll just lose even more subscribers, considering how very disgruntled many people already seem to be. Customers aren't just lapdogs that will roll over and keep giving you their money if you keep annoying them.

It's funny how Blizzard never cared to intervene when people used to get harassed and kicked for completely unwarranted reasons from LFG and LFR before, when people constantly made valid complaints on the forums that the LFD and LFR kicksystem sucked balls and was being abused, but oh boy, when some of their $$ is involved they're there as fast as they can!

You aren't protesting shit. All you're doing is stomping your foot down on the ground and screaming at the impenetrable wall of sense from other, less complacent, less self righteous subscribers and Blizzard and obstruct the time spent online by others in a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game just because they don't agree with your high and mighty, egotistical views on what WoW should be like and whether the shop should exist or not.



Meanwhile, in other threads, you have the gall to blame these tools you use to hinder peoples' gameplays for the decline in socialization in your beloved 'multiplayer' aspects of the game and how people don't want to interact with you anymore because of it. It really is high time for you to take a long, hard look into the mirror. Then again, I bet you'd see only venom.

[Shudder]

I've been in 4 LFR's now where we've kicked someone wearing a helmet. It's pretty awesome. I also /spit on them when I see them in shrine.

[shanthi]

Funnily enough the only thing you need to do to get someone kicked is say something like:

"What a pretty transmog helmet" ...

That a bunch of other people start getting insultive over it and throwing /spit-emotes wouldn't really be my fault would it? They are pretty transmog helmets after all, aren't they? ^^

They're not really very pretty at all. They're actually kinda terrible looking.

So, Blizzard should be able to tell from such withering sarcasm that you're engaging in harassment. ^.^

[Gsara]

I'm going to die laughing if Blizz started monitoring LFR chats for this sort of thing due to people in this very thread bragging about their antisocial behavior.

I doubt that's what happened, they probably noticed an assload of vote-kicks surging since the items released, but even so--be funny as hell if these people dug their own graves.

Everything said in chat is kept for 3 months in the system so they can go through the logs in case of reports.

[Yarathir]

I've been in 4 LFR's now where we've kicked someone wearing a helmet. It's pretty awesome. I also /spit on them when I see them in shrine.

I've gone outside and greeted someone today without growling at him because he might like what I do not like and might not like what I do like. Oh the humanity!

[Deleted]

There could be a cosmetic item that turns you into Gabe Newell at the size of a Tauren, which would cost 5000£/$/euro and I would still think that the guy in full current-tier heroic gear looks cooler.

[Gsara]

I'm sorry, but at one point, when you are past the point of wanting to appear as a 'grown up' just for the sake of it, you'll start realizing that standing up and doing whatever effort you can to make sure -your- values survive or trump other people's values is more important, that you have a moral obligation towards such, and that it makes you responsible and purposeful and meaningful in other people's eyes who share your values.

The "kick itemshoppers from LFR"-protest for me is an intricate and complex protest that involves making people and Blizzard aware of multiple things:
1. Making them and people realize that their LFR votekick system might suck
2. Making them and people realize how many people are so heavily upset about the itemshop
3. Making them realize that putting a bunch of anonymous people from different realms together to do content only creates toxic environments and experiences

And then they requeue and get right back in another LFR or dungeon, no problem.

[Thage]

I'm sorry, but at one point, when you are past the point of wanting to appear as a 'grown up' just for the sake of it, you'll start realizing that standing up and doing whatever effort you can to make sure -your- values survive or trump other people's values is more important, that you have a moral obligation towards such, and that it makes you responsible and purposeful and meaningful in other people's eyes who share your values.

And you wonder why people don't want to associate with you in WoW. Coexistence is the key to any society; name one sociopathic race-to-the-top society that has done anything but inspire bloody revolution or crumble.

The "kick itemshoppers from LFR"-protest for me is an intricate and complex protest that involves making people and Blizzard aware of multiple things:
1. Making them and people realize that their LFR votekick system might suck
2. Making them and people realize how many people are so heavily upset about the itemshop
3. Making them realize that putting a bunch of anonymous people from different realms together to do content only creates toxic environments and experiences

No, dude. It just makes you an asshole. This is stuff to post on the forums or in your account cancellation page. And that last one is fallacious simply because people like you are what makes LFR a toxic environment--it's a self-fulfilling prophecy by egomaniacs who refuse to let other people enjoy the game on their terms.

Damn. 160+ IQ? You sure about that, cupcake?

[Eats Compost]

If the backlash against the store and people who bought the transmog items is great enough to lead to successful vote kicks, doesn't that say something? It IS a majority vote, after all.

Also, one of the reasons that I dislike the store is that they intentionally make the items very eye-catching for attention-seeking purposes. Take the Heart of the Aspects, for example. An incredibly bright model, animations that make it dart all over the place, a HUGE model size and the ability to be used even where other drake mounts aren't (which, quite frankly, is outright bullshit). The helmets also like this; bright colors (even the hood has bright spots on it) to ensure that it catches attention and the fancy motion of the particle effects. Many of the cash shop mounts are quite similar in this regard, and even darker things like the bat have highlights on them to ensure that they get people looking at them.

Cash shops for cosmetics on principle is one question, but seeing someone paying money just to draw attention makes me want to kick out the stand from under their feet. I find it distasteful, and it projects another player's intent in a negative light.

[TS26]

Is there a good reason they couldn't have put this in the game as part of an achievement or old-world boss thing? It's not like they're exclusive in any way so you couldn't even say "but everyone would have them!".

Putting them in the game wouldn't generate additional revenue for blizzard. It's a good reason for them, sadly.

[shanthi]

I'm sorry, but at one point, when you are past the point of wanting to appear as a 'grown up' just for the sake of it, you'll start realizing that standing up and doing whatever effort you can to make sure -your- values survive or trump other people's values is more important, that you have a moral obligation towards such, and that it makes you responsible and purposeful and meaningful in other people's eyes who share your values.

That's a good way to justify any action, really. Any terrorist organization would be proud to have you write their literature.