Would removing the wow token be better for the health of the game?

[Mirishka]

I noticed in my little side hobby I do at the end of an expansion ( leveling a fresh alt on a new realm without contacts) that th entry level for a lack of a better term has changed quite drastically.

There has never been this level of players selling services to one another in any point of the game and from being on the seller's side of it I honestly believe it is fueled by the wow token.

I'm just undecided if it is a bad thing or not... while buying your way to a geared character is now a option that many utilize you can still create your own pugs and clear content up to and including mythic although it is a bit harder the it used to be.

I don't really know if this is better or not... it's kind of why I made the thread. While this new normal seems a bit off to me it is allowing people to see content they never would before. While carry runs always existed it really wasn't till the token that the use of then exploded.

If you or for or against the token though can we all agree it would be nice if blizzard accepted the real life money community they created and made it it's own lfg channel to stop people spamming it else where though.?

If you think real-money transactions for in-game services begins and ends with the token... I have dinosaur DNA to sell you.

And Blizz didn't 'create' a real life community, at all. As proven by the cheaters and exploiters in basically every online game ever, players will do whatever they can to gain a shortcut or an edge. People bought gold for money in vanilla, which led to a ton of compromised accounts, which were used to farm more gold for more real life money.

The token was a response to that.

[munkeyinorbit]

I think it puts new players into a weird setting were it seems carries are the normal way to start progressing. I don't really know if I'm for or against to be honest I just see the situation as well...less then ideal.

I think k blizzard should create some kind of market place for players to sell services to one another maybe a special lfd tab for it.

There's already a special channel for selling services. It's called trade.

The reason there is more spam for the services was because in the past it was unclear on what blizzard thought of the practise. My guild sold runs in WotLK but it wasn't advertised that openly. People got suspended because "it looked like" we were buying gold. As soon as the token came out and blizzard openly said gold transactions were ok the spam started.

There always were and always will be this market. Having it out in the open is a good thing. TBH this thread seems kind of insincere and you actually don't like the practise. If you really are selling runs as you say then this type of insincerity is exactly the type of bullshit I expect from a seller. You might as well stop with the lies and just say what you really mean.

[tru]

Only like 2200 IO on my main, but I have bought a few carries for the specific reason of gearing up an alt quickly.

Wow Token prevents folks from spending money on gold selling sites, because more often than not, its a better price.

Guess you didn't go to the right sites lol

[Krakan]

There's already a special channel for selling services. It's called trade.

The reason there is more spam for the services was because in the past it was unclear on what blizzard thought of the practise. My guild sold runs in WotLK but it wasn't advertised that openly. People got suspended because "it looked like" we were buying gold. As soon as the token came out and blizzard openly said gold transactions were ok the spam started.

There always were and always will be this market. Having it out in the open is a good thing. TBH this thread seems kind of insincere and you actually don't like the practise. If you really are selling runs as you say then this type of insincerity is exactly the type of bullshit I expect from a seller. You might as well stop with the lies and just say what you really mean.

I mean I'm not really a fan of it but I profit off it so it seems hypocritical of me to be against it...

I think it's a negative and it could be done better but I'm not sure I want it gone.. I'm kinda flip flopping because I'm not really sure where I stand on it

[khazmodan]

stupid argument to even try to make since the shills will forever argue for Blizzards cash grab and the few that understand the long term effects are drowned out. The current developers are quickly falling to EA levels of Dunning-Kruger effect so don't expect any smart changes coming from them no matter how well you argue.

[fwc577]

this, i would not play this game if it was no by the token, people sometimes forgot the subscription price outside USA is damn high

Yup, as an American, the sub price isn't high for me, I just cannot justify actually paying a sub for a game in 2020.

If the WoW token goes, the sub requirement needs to go as well.

[BrintoSFJ]

I don't think it will improve the game. The reason Blizzard added in the first place because they realized that no matter what they do, people will buy and sell gold. So they just added a legal system for them. If anything it improved the game. Just look at the chinese version of classic wow, no token and gold sellers running rampant.

[Saltysquidoon]

Only like 2200 IO on my main, but I have bought a few carries for the specific reason of gearing up an alt quickly

How does that work with personal loot and M+? Is it and all leather run? Do you just eat shit if you get unlucky?

[Soon-TM]

The question I keep wondering about is, who the hell is buying all this crap with money? Who spends the equivalent of $40 to buy an offhand weapon with the right corruption?

Some people spend upwards of $200 to buy orbs in Path of Exile, even if the devs there have stated repeatedly that it equals to cheating. Why would it be any different in WoW, moreso when gold selling is officially endorsed?

[Dracullus]

Positives:
1. Less people would use it.
2. Blizzard would make less pure gold rewards (stuff like 300k frogs are just hidden store mounts).
3. People wouldn't scr... ok scream less that WoW is "pay to win" whenever there is some powerful BoE.

Negatives:
1. Instantly black market would be created, or rather existing black market would lose powerful competition.
2. Gold selling sites would grow in power and have more resources to scam people.
3. Regular people would have their accounts banned or stolen after buying gold.
4. Especially since many wouldn't understand why suddenly buying gold is "wrong" again after years with WoW token.
5. You wouldn't be able to earn more game time in-game.
6. Store mounts/services would become "cash only".
7. We (and Blizzard) would lost rather good indicator about inflation/deflation.

[MrLachyG]

I noticed in my little side hobby I do at the end of an expansion ( leveling a fresh alt on a new realm without contacts) that th entry level for a lack of a better term has changed quite drastically.

There has never been this level of players selling services to one another in any point of the game and from being on the seller's side of it I honestly believe it is fueled by the wow token.

people have always sold services; I started end of Cata/start of MoP and there were people selling challenge mode runs, mythic siege runs for the mount. it's just now there is more content to do at max level: people are not only selling mythic runs of Ny'alotha but mythic runs of Battle of Dazar'alor, heroic runs of Ny'alotha, mythic plus carries as well as horrific vision carries. so yeah you're seeing a lot more because there are a lot more, it doesn't have anything to do with the token

[Tavin]

Ive stopped buying tokens/30 day sub with irl money as I can easily farm that amount of gold a month while just raiding/playing normally.

Would it be better if they removed the token? Of course not, then people would just buy it from gold sellers/get banned/scammed etc. This is a lot healthier for the game in it's current state

[kaminaris]

The number of people using WoW tokens to buy runs is so incredibly small that it has absolutely no place anywhere other than shitty arguments in favor of removing it. The WoW token isn't the reason the economy is inundated by sale runs. It's two full fucking expansions of Blizzard allowing players to generate ridiculous amounts of gold which has caused this problem, people just blame the WoW token because they don't like it.

Basically this, plus blizzard banning super small portion of players buying gold for money before token did not stop people from doing it. It literally had no impact back then.

[Baroclinic]

people have always sold services; I started end of Cata/start of MoP and there were people selling challenge mode runs, mythic siege runs for the mount. it's just now there is more content to do at max level: people are not only selling mythic runs of Ny'alotha but mythic runs of Battle of Dazar'alor, heroic runs of Ny'alotha, mythic plus carries as well as horrific vision carries. so yeah you're seeing a lot more because there are a lot more, it doesn't have anything to do with the token

Yep, this.

I have on occasion bought a carry when I knew that work was going to put me in a place without computer access for months to sometimes a year, but have only done the token thing once. And that was solely to try the token thing.

It's not a difficult prospect to work up 100-200k-ish gold. Heck, back in Legion it was sell a crafted leggo and have a quick, super easy m +15 so I can enjoy other things without the headaches.

[kaminaris]

Positives:
1. Less people would use it.
2. Blizzard would make less pure gold rewards (stuff like 300k frogs are just hidden store mounts).
3. People wouldn't scr... ok scream less that WoW is "pay to win" whenever there is some powerful BoE.

Negatives:
1. Instantly black market would be created, or rather existing black market would lose powerful competition.
2. Gold selling sites would grow in power and have more resources to scam people.
3. Regular people would have their accounts banned or stolen after buying gold.
4. Especially since many wouldn't understand why suddenly buying gold is "wrong" again after years with WoW token.
5. You wouldn't be able to earn more game time in-game.
6. Store mounts/services would become "cash only".
7. We (and Blizzard) would lost rather good indicator about inflation/deflation.

Ok there buddy you let your imagination too much.

Negatives:
2. A lot of gold selling websites are legit, meaning you are getting gold you paid for, I know few people who still do it despite token exists.
3. I don't know how incredibly dumb you would have to be to get your account stolen from buying gold (getting ban is possible if buying lots of gold or frequently).

And in all honesty, gray market (it's not black market) would grow a lot from removing wowtoken, and that is biggest cons.
That means increased amount of bots.

And positives? There is none. Nobody would gain anything from token removal except for gray market.

[MrLachyG]

Yep, this.

I have on occasion bought a carry when I knew that work was going to put me in a place without computer access for months to sometimes a year, but have only done the token thing once. And that was solely to try the token thing.

It's not a difficult prospect to work up 100-200k-ish gold. Heck, back in Legion it was sell a crafted leggo and have a quick, super easy m +15 so I can enjoy other things without the headaches.

I have bought runs through SoO Mythic, got the mount which was good cause that was a really long raid and the challenge modes for MoP and WoD. did not regret that at all. would consider buying one for Nya'lotha but I want Long Boi

[Zoibert the Bear]

The question I keep wondering about is, who the hell is buying all this crap with money? Who spends the equivalent of $40 to buy an offhand weapon with the right corruption?

I also wonder about how reliable a revenue stream that is. In game I used to go nuts farming for the best boes and darkmoon trinks etc. but I eventually stopped because I got good enough that they weren't important.

Some of us have a lot of time to play the game and not a lot of money. Some others have very little time to play but have a lot of money. I'm sure there's a lucky few who have both.

You do the math.

[Doffen]

this, i would not play this game if it was no by the token, people sometimes forgot the subscription price outside USA is damn high

Yeah, I've read about someone from a country where the sub fee is a solid 5 percentages of their income after taxes. It might not feel a lot when reading it, but it really is a lot when you think of all the stuff we have to pay just to live. 5% of my income for me where I live would be 2 weeks worth of food. To think that I would have to make the decision of playing wow for a month or not eat for 2 weeks? It's on the edge sure, but that's the reality for some. I have made a post about this before, I find it strange that the sub fee isn't based on what country people live in.

Anyway, accessibility is important. The WoW token is a tool to help that cause. Of all the things they have introduced to this game, WoW token is arguably the most important one. Not for that reason alone, but for the longevity of the game. Sure, blizzard earns from it seeing people buy token to get gold, but it doesn't change the fact that there are lots of positives with it as well for the players.

[schwarzkopf]

No OP .. not at all, the token doesn't add gold to the game - it merely allows the burden of paying for WoW stuff from those who are time rich to those who are real world money rich.

It is an excellent way to balance real world limitations in giving people access to WoW stuff.

[Accendor]

There's been a real life money price tag on everything since vanilla (I had friends offer me between $50 to $100 to level them in vanilla). WoW token just makes the transactions safer.

No, it makes them "legal". That is a big difference. I understand that you could never fully eliminate the problem on a small scale base (e.g. your friend paying you for a one time boost in cash), but in the big picture this does not matter.
The correct solution would be perma banns for buyers and sellers for each of those services.
Also this kind of transaction does not need to be save. If you do shady shit against the ToS and get your account stolen, thats just what you deserve and really just a you problem.