Pay 2 win is a shit term that applies to very specific games (where you literally pay the devs for an advantage in game). But wow is a nebulous grey area. Paying for carries is weird. Its SUPER MMO in that you have to give a player a bunch of gold for said carry (or maybe even real life currency you naughty boost sites that have been around since my bestie decided that he hated leveling in vanilla and paid a site to boost him to 60 - who then jacked his card about 2 years later). This isnt Pay2win per se, you gain no advantage over the hardcore playerbase. But its pay to something. Pay2Boost? Kinda feels too limiting. Pay2advantage... we're kind of getting closer... I genuinely dont know what this is. It sucks though. But i suck, so i want all sucky players to solidarnosci with me.
It still feels like its cheating a bit though. I dont know how to describe it. And im in awe at devs who have put me in this position of confusion. I mean, its basically gaining an in-game advantage, right? We know that, right? They are using real world money to buy tokens converting to in game gold, paid into balances used for blizzard credit... you cant transfer this into cash in any way? Its just blizzard shop bs? Theres no chargeback system or balance refund available? Its like a store discount system? Honestly, i havent looked into the loopholes. So im assuming that the only way to transfer that blizzard balance is through blizzard products. So its not... pay2win. But its super weird (or super nebulous), right? Its pay2Kotics3rdyacht?
Let me simplify it: Pay2win: You give the devs direct cash. You get an in-game advantage.
Pay2Kotic: You buy a token (giving the devs direct cash), someone buys the token, you get an in game currency, you then use that currency in the in game market to buy a carry, that garners you an advantage (we've satisfied half the argument, well, maybe two thirds, since blizzard also have their cash, but now we have a middle-man)). That person then needs to turn that in game currency into actual real direct material cash. If they can do this, the loop is complete. If they cant, despite everyone (you, blizzard and the middle man garnering an explicit advantage) its not pay2win, but pay2kotic. Which is pay2win with a single extra step. But also not, because the middle man cant redeem that service into physical payment...
Bernie sanders needs to be on this (he doesnt). But what advantage in or out of game are the third party garnering from this shoddy deal? Then we can understand what this even is, (then we can name it and cast it back into hell where it belongs).