So at least you got the Anniversary year right....

[Itakas]

Do you think the cows that are milked on a farm get a special gift for the anniversary of the farm?

[Milch]

How is it not the same? We pay $15 a month to Blizzard for a service. How is that not like paying a cable company for service?

The Blizzard rate doesn't constantly go up, unlike our cable rates, water rates, electricity rates, etc.

[xanzul]

Yes. It would require minimal effort, and show a little love to the community.

Am I gonna throw a tissy, and threaten to /ragequit about it? No. That would be asinine. Is calling people spoiled, entitled crybabies because they express some disappointment over such a lackluster milestone also asinine? Yes.

And how exactly is a xp/rep boost tabard not minimal effort? I'm sorry but every single last one of you whiners are coming off as not only entitled but complete hypocrites.

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But WoW used to have 12 mil at it's peak and is losing subs, especially now. End of expansion nothing to do, new one won't be out for at least 6 months? Maybe. I guess they could be looking at 5 mil in Q1 2014. Sure some of them will come back for WoD but Blizzard has to realize that a lot of players just keep playing out of habit or addiction. After taking a month or more off, many of them will just move on if there are alternatives that treat their customers better.

EQ1 has been out for nearly 15 years and has never had more than 500k subscribers and they just released its 20th expansion. Wow isn't going anywhere for many, many, many years to come. Aging mmos always lose subscribers. Always. It isn't a reflection of its quality but of its age.

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But WoW used to have 12 mil at it's peak and is losing subs, especially now. End of expansion nothing to do, new one won't be out for at least 6 months? Maybe. I guess they could be looking at 5 mil in Q1 2014. Sure some of them will come back for WoD but Blizzard has to realize that a lot of players just keep playing out of habit or addiction. After taking a month or more off, many of them will just move on if there are alternatives that treat their customers better.

EQ1 has been out for nearly 15 years and has never had more than 500k subscribers and they just released its 20th expansion. Wow isn't going anywhere for many, many, many years to come. Aging mmos always lose subscribers. Always. It isn't a reflection of its quality but of its age.

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It's becoming more and more apparent that they simply do not care as much as they used to. Or they've lost their touch.

WoD is a dissapointment. Everything has been lately.

Companies who don't care don't make a profit. Even if Blizzard were the greediest most evil corporation of all time, they have a vested interest in at least appearing to care about their customers whether they genuinely do or not. That means taking player feedback into consideration and doing special things for them. If Blizzard didn't care then all the player requested features in Mop never would have happened and it looks as though quite a few playter suggestions will be in Wod as well. If Blizzard doesn't care then they are doing a piss poor job of acting like it. You may not be happy with Blizzard but you speak for yourself and only yourself. For each hater I have seen on these forums I see 10 more players who are excited for what is coming.

[Oneirophobia]

I agree that 10th anniversary is much bigger

However towards the end of an expansion, to give a 1% increase as the sole reward? that's just plain lazy.

Imagaine a 20% increase 50% 100% increase in xp . Does it harm anything? Really? I do not believe so as most people will be leveling alts towards end of expansion anyways!

Considering they're giving us a free 90 when the expac comes out--- oh wait maybe they didn't do that cause it would mean less people to buy extra 90 boosts when they put it in the store.

[xanzul]

I agree with this. I've been on the fence if I wanted to come back to WoW and level my characters up to get ready for WoD and this could have easily been the thing to draw me back in for at least a month. If Blizzard had offered something other than a minor exp boost, I would have most likely been resubbed. As it stands now though, I'm going to be waiting for the end of the month and hoping the black Friday ads are correct and I can get some game time for $5. If so, I'll be back then, but if not, I won't be returning, probably until WoD goes on sale, then most likely only a month or two like I did for MoP.

They really need to start thinking about the customers they do have, not the ones they could potentially get. They're not attracting enough customers to make up for those that they're losing, it should be extremely obvious where they need to focus their attention, but sadly, it isn't. If they can only draw in 100,000 new customers, but they lose 350,000 customers in the process, they're down 250,000 customers. On the other hand, if they only bring in 50,000 customers, but lose less than 300,000, they're still ahead in the numbers.

Retaining one customer is better than gaining one and losing that other former customer. Even gaining that one, all you're doing is replacing the one lost. Instead, keep that one customer you have and give them some incentive to either stick around or bring others into the game.

I think Blizzard has a far better idea of how to get and retain subscribers than any armchair game developer. Just because they are unable to keep you personally subscribed doesn't mean they can't keep anyone else subscribed. I have carefully avoided saying this but enough is enough. If this game was oh so terrible and there was a mass exodus then why exactly did Wow only lose 100k subscriptions in Q3? Looks to me like Blizzard is retaining subscribers just fine.

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I'm out (of this thread) just want to end with this ;

Criticizing Blizzard for doing something über lazy =/= Being a spoiled entitled kid

At this point it is moot whether Blizzard is lazy or not. We have known for well over two years now that we wouldn't get anything for the 8th and 9th anniversaries. Continuing to whine about it at this point smacks of entitlement. If you aren't happy with the game and feel as though you need extras to make it worth it then maybe it is time to cancel your sub and move the fuck on.

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And on the same page too.

Have yet to read anyone say they're quitting over not receiving something more than the buff, most just seem a bit disappointed.

He was referring to the topic in general and not specifically just this thread. That should be obvious.

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Not what I meant, but these things do pile up. I don't care about anniversary reward or pets personally however I do have a similar example..

Back in Vanilla and TBC, if the servers had problems and prevented players logging in for most of the day, usually after maintenance, they gave 1 free day for that. Then at some point soon after merging with Activision they stopped doing that. Now I would not quit over 1 day but it still translates into bad customer service, arrogant etc. and coupled with other reasons it can be that proverbial straw that prevents someone from returning or makes them quit.

Most people dont think "omg no free pet for anniversary? I quit!!!" It's more like "well, they did this and that and I hate these changes and there is the nerfs to my class and I hate the expansion and now THIS too!!", that does it! /unsubscribe

Vivendi Games merged with Activision not Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard has had complete autonomy ever since Vivendi bought them in the late 90s and they still have that autonomy pending any changes in ATVI's company bylaws which has yet to ever happen. For ATVI to be able to overrride any managerial decisions by Blizzard Entertainment would require a majority vote by the board of directors has yet to ever happen either. Everything Blizzard has done in regards to Wow has been their decision and their decision alone. No one not even Bobby Kotick can make Blizzard do anything. If you hate Blizzard and Wow so much then fucking leave already.

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Please continue ignoring what people posted and continue going "STOP ASKING FOR MOUNTS AND PETS! ENTITLEMENTS! 0 READING COMPREHENSION"

Not everyone is asking for something stupid.

Blizzard told us two years ago and numerous times since that we would NOT be getting pets or anything major until the 10th anniversary. You are right there are reading comprehension issues here but not on the part of those who are fed up with this bullshit incessant whining.

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I don't see how hard i would be to toss us one of those unused mounts that never made it into the game. Crimson/golden/green Water Strider anyone? Azure/jade heavenly cloud serpent? That wouldnt have even required effort.

It isn't a matter of hard or effort it is the fact that Blizzard doesn't consider the past few anniversaries to be milestones. It's one thing to disagree but entirely another to start making demands of what Blizzard gives you for their own anniversary.

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ya, but....

that was what they said at the 7 year ann. "no new stuff for you for 3 moar years"

in other words they just dont care, which is the whole point of the OP.

which really IS a shitty thing to do, on the anniversary of your customers keeping you in business and all, to just shuffle it off and say "nah, here's something you dont want, and really dont need, but keep by all means paying us for the privilege of acquiring such drivel"

With all due respect I'm fairly certain Blizzard doesn't want to keep customers like you. They are totally ok with people walking away from the game over petty trivial issues like this. Unfortunately none of you seem to ever leave no matter what Blizzard does. If you aren't happy with the service you get, quit paying. It's just that simple.

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The more money Blizzard makes, the less they do for us vanity wise. It's all about balance and crap. No more vanity, class flavor or fun stuff.

Again there is no profit without customers and Blizzard knows this. They also know some customers aren't worth the effort and don't have a problem with them walking away.

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Which is precisely my point. Might be one-off examples of whining here and there but mostly I'm just seeing vague disappointment and namecalling. And I would put the namecallers together with the worst whiners on a rocket-to-the-sun anyday.

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I don't just assume this. I know precisely how much effort goes into unique art assets. Tweaking a model, throwing a semi-unique skin on it, and pushing it out the door like they did with the Onyxian is not difficult.

If you don't want to be called an entitled spoiled brat then don't act like one. Simple. Again until the day that anniversary pets become a part of the service Blizzard is obligated to provide us then yes it absolutely is entitlement to demand it.

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I really think those of you screaming "Entitled! Entitled! WAAAH!!!!!" should really go and look up what the word means.

I don't think it's entitlement to want a little more of a reward for paying the money to play the game for (in some cases) nine years. I think it's only fair that people want something more than "Here's a cookie, now smeg off" for the anniversary.

And even if you don't, why do we have to listen to it?

Actually it is you entitled whiners who need to look up the word. If anniversary pets were a part of our subscription then yes there is no issue in being upset over not getting them. The problem is that those pets are NOT part of the service Blizzard is obligated by law to provide for us so yes it absolutely is entitlement to demand them. It isn't rocket science. I don't think anyone truly has an issue with those who wish Blizzard had some sort of loyalty program but most of you don't seem interested in actual discussion and just want to make demands like Blizzard is your bitch or something.

[Justin-Sane]

Honestly, I'm okay with just the rep/exp bonus, It helps a ton with leveling alts or grinding rep. Is it a bit disappointing? sure. Blizzard doesn't owe me anything for the anniversary of THEIR game, although to be fair, there wouldn't be an anniversary without their player base. All in all, i hope they will do something special with their tenth, like a mount. I think 10 is a milestone number which leads me to believe they're preparing for something special by having a boring rep/exp token for two years straight rather than a pet or something.

[xanzul]

If anything people still playing after 9 years should be treated like royalty by Blizzard...

No one is paying $15 a month as a favor to Blizzard. If you aren't getting your moneys worth, quit. No amount of freebies is going to change your view of the game.

[BEYR]

Sometimes warcraft players can be such tools for blizzard.

Why is it every time someone disagrees with criticism of Blizzard this is the response? "Well, looks like another shill. Must be on Blizzards payroll." Or, just maybe, I could care less about some tacky slapped together pet and don't feel the need to literally cry about some manufactured slight on the internet.

[xanzul]

I expected more pandering to blizz posts, or flaming. Glad to see a lot of people think the same about their customer service experiences

Good customer service is following company policy and treating everyone the same. Not giving a whiny customer what they want isn't bad customer service. Bad customer service would be Blizzard not providing what they are obligated to provide which is access to the game. Acknowledging what Blizzard is and isn't obligated to do isn't pandering or fanboyism it is called being realistic and pragmatic.

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That's slightly different.

My parents raised me with no expectation of getting money back. To show that I'm gracious, I should get them a present.

I helped make what Blizzard is doing for a living possible, to the tune of ~1600$. (wow + expansions + time + sc2 + d3). Should I get them a present for my gift of ~loyal patronage throughout the years?

Pretty sure it is the developers and the others who started Blizzard that made it what it is today. Not one single person who has played Blizzard games did so as a favor to Blizzard. They did it because they enjoyed the games. You don't deserve a god damn thing because not only did you get what you paid for but presumably you enjoyed it as well. If not then the true issue here is why are you paying for something you don't think is worth your money?

[ThunderPussy]

See you next month.

[xanzul]

If this is your reasoning, then we should never get anything else besides leveling-quests, dungeons, raids.... new xpac with the same things; because Blizz should not waste time on anything else.

This is a stupid way of reasoning really.
It is Blizz's world/game whatever and they sell it to us, we pay monthly to keep playing. So we are their paying customers.
In that world there are a lot of things.... and they all belong to our gaming experience.
And guess what, all of that is the reponsibility to be updated by blizzard.
When they don't their customers will complain... so don't use this argument that they are working on a new xpac.... they are always working in content you know.

And yet it is Blizzard's game and Blizzard's anniversary and it is their right to manage it however they see fit. They don't have to check in with us when making decisions nor do they need to justify anything they are doing. We are customers and the only thing we should concern ourselves with is whether we enjoy the product we pay for. Anything else is arrogance and entitlement. Blizzard has given us everything they are obligated to and more. If you aren't happy with it, move on.

[Super Kami Dende]

demanding rewards for doing nothing but playing a game at a certain time of the year makes you sound like the biggest entitled twit that ever graced the internet.

[xanzul]

This is not fully true.... it would be more equivalent showing up at the bakery where you buy your bread every day, on the day they are celebrating their anniversary.
The exist that long, because amongst other, you buy you bread every day in that place and to show you that they appreciate you being a customer, they offer you something.

You are already giving them your money, which you could also spend in another shop.... so just to say to you: "we appreciate you as customer", they give you a gift.
I personally believe everyone would like that.

I don't think we give our bakery gifts on their birthday, because we have something to with their ongoing existence.

And again customers aren't doing business with Blizzard as a favor so come off it already. This right here is why the word entitlement is brought up so often. Who the hell do you think you are to make demands of what Blizzard should do for you beyond the service you already agreed to pay for which Blizzard is obligated to give you simply because you are a customer? What people are asking for goes way beyond appreciation and the claims to the contrary accomplish nothing but to insult our intelligence. No one here is that stupid.

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It should be a celebration regardless. It'd actually be like going to a birthday party where there's clowns, cake, ice cream, music and swimming and all you got was a "thanks for the presents" sticker at the front door before being sent back home.

And this is where you cancel your sub and walk away. Seriously those of you who refuse to stop pitching a fit over this just get the fuck out already.

[Hyve]

Every year people complain about not getting something epic, and quite frankly I don't know why.

The release of the Onixyan Whelp was not just their anniversary, but also to mark the release of the Level 80 Onixya Raid. The fact that people year in, year out, expect to be given something cool and epic is just silly. They're busy people and this is a quick, simple gift that helps people level their alts, and level their reputation(s).

No idea why so many people are getting snarky.

[xanzul]

It seems you would find some kind of argument to make it look great if Blizzard gifted you a box of crap!

Sry, to say it like this... but it really looks to me like it.

So not only are you unhappy with what Blizzard gave us for their anniversary but you expect everyone else to be equally as upset? Like I asked before who the hell do you think you are? I like how the only people allowed to have an opinion here are those who do nothing but bitch whine and moan about everything Blizzard does and says.

[Fenixdown]

comparing wow to those games doesn't rly work, also they said they plan a big thing for the 10th

I'd like to know exactly where you saw this, so I can maybe regain some hope in this game after everything else that's transpired since Blizzcon.

[xanzul]

Do you have to pay a monthly fee to make use of their house, electricity, water, other stuff?
Do you have to pay for their attention, care, love?

Somehow, somewhere you went wrong with this comparisson right?

because comparing your parents to a profit-company in the way you just did, looks to me like an insult to your parents.
Whatever they did for you, they did for free, right?

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It sounded like that really, sry. Didn't mean anything by it.......

Last time I checked cable, electric and other utilities are all services many of which have a monthly fee just like wow. The issue here isn't whether customers are appreciated or not it is the fact people who are unhappy with Blizzard and Wow are still paying Blizzard and think it is even remotely rational to pitch a fit every year because they don't get a tailor made gift from Blizzard.

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I would have been happy with a recolor of a pet. That seriously doesn't take a lot of time to implement; it's not like it's gonna push back WoD for another two months. That's all the year 4 pet was. A recolor of the panda.

We have gotten hundreds of new pets every patch. Go get one of those and pretend you got it for the anniversary.

[Celista]

I have confirmed that the 10th anniversary is a remake of Onyxia, but this time with more Whelps.

Right before xpac 6 announcement I'm totally making a mock web page for World of Warcraft: Onyxia Reborn (again)

[xanzul]

Perhaps the biggest reason for people still playing WoW is because so many people still play WoW. If Blizzard had to compete with other games in the areas of quality and customer service, we would either have a far superior product or this game would be dead.

The truth is that the people running this game are damn lazy because they have no competition. I see posts criticizing players for feeling a sense of entitlement, but how can you ignore the fact that Blizzard feels this same sense of entitlement and it is displayed in how they treat their customers. I don't understand why so many posters on this forum seem to think that the greatest good equates to maximizing Blizzard's profit margins, even when those profits come from producing a lower quality product.

How exactly is Blizzard acting entitled? It is their company, their game and their decisions to make. Customers have ZERO rights in determining how a company does business or what it does or doesn't do for customers. Unhappy with Wow? Stop fucking paying for it.

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For their 9th anniversary, Blizzard will be locking out Flying in the world and allowing you to earn it back after 2 weeks after finishing a chain quest and paying a relatively small gold cost.

Congratulations!

Flying has been restricted ever since it was implemented. Get out.

[Deleted]

I rather have them work on WoD than put in some meaningless anniversary event tbf. While an event would be nice, I don't really miss it. I'll take the 9% XP though!