What are ACCEPTABLE cash shop items?

[Azerate]

Everything is acceptable for me as long as they are not selling direct power upgrades, achievement unlocks, materials for crafting etc.

Things you can buy for real money are standard in gaming in 2021. People who demand games without them are clowns who are completely disconnected with reality. This only happens in indie games or games made by companies that treat their employees like slaves (like CDPR).

[varren]

Absolutely nothing in a buy to play and pay to play game.

[Morssoe]

Items on shop are not acceptable at all if game is new. But when it's old and dying no one cares if they milk few existing players.

Like you said, wow has millions of items so value of mounts and such dropped long ago. No cash shop mount is gonna change that.

[Rendark]

In a game that you have to buy and pay a subscription for the only "acceptable" cash shop items would be nothing.

[Thelyron]

Literally nothing. Everything cool should be earnable ingame, everything super cool exclusively through achievements.

[Pakheth]

My honest opinion? NO CASH SHOP WHATSOEVER would be my choice. But since the topic's question predicates on the existence of a cash shop, I'd say the only acceptable cash shop items would be cosmetic...

... WITH A FEW CAVEATS:
• No transmog armor/weapon sets.
• No race customization options. (New hair styles/colors, faces, skin colors, etc).
• No class customization options. (Quivers, librams, different looks for pets/abilities, etc).

All of the above should be fully available in-game at no rea-life money cost.

This.

Only functionality like moving servers, token and physical items.

Anything cosmetic takes away from playing the game and anything that gives an advantage makes the game pay to win.

Why should I bother to play the game when I can just pay myself to the cool looking stuff?

[Schizoide]

Items on shop are not acceptable at all if game is new. But when it's old and dying no one cares if they milk few existing players.

I mean, as one of those few, I do?

[Morssoe]

I mean, as one of those few, I do?

Sure, you could care, but should you? Same as many things in life.

[Orby]

My mentality is if you are paying a sub then nothing is acceptable in a cash shop... except maybe charity stuff, but then thats stuff going to charity

In a non sub game, cosmetics maybe? Personally I am just not a fan of cash shops period, but I do understand that live service games like MMO's need to be kept running so they have to make their money somehow.

[Kauko]

Like it is in WOW. Except level boosts. Everything else is just fine as it is.

[Hellobolis]

There are those who enjoy the cash shop, and then there are those who don't.

If we were to break it down into what is acceptable and what isn't in a cash shop, what would be acceptable to you to be in a cash shop?

For me the list would be:

• The current mounts, pets, toys
• Transmog options
• Character Services
• Single level boosts (think 5-10$ each)
• Early access flying (think 20-30$ per character to unlock it before the patch its released in)

I would absolutely not want ANY power upgrades to be sold in the cash shop. None. If they were to introduce direct power upgrades (ie, selling raid gear or the like) I would unsub immediately.

i appreciate the subscription and expansion box cost being unacceptable cash shop items for you. i don't personally think wow should go F2P but i can see the argument.

[DechCJC]

If the game is F2P or B2P then I don't really care as long as it's entirely cosmetics; I never agree with any kind of level boost or gold selling, to me these are both power boosts, either directly or indirectly.

If the game has a subscription, I don't even agree with the existence of a store.

[MoanaLisa]

Since a lot of people have already decided that the cash shop is irrevocably a pay-to-win thing (even though that's questionable) then there's no point in holding back.

I personally would dislike that and wouldn't use it but I'm quite sure that a lot of people would be fine with with it and those that accuse Blizzard loudly of having the shop already being a pay-to-win cash store would have no further reason to complain.

I mean, they would, but it would be like arguing that "It was pay-to-win before but it's even more pay-to-win now." That's a dumb argument: either it is pay-to-win or it isn't. If it already is and they are selling power through the token when then goes to players for boosts that allow said players to obtain top-level raid gear for doing nothing, then why not be more direct about it and just sell the raid gear? At least it would cripple the boost business in-game and might lower other costs (ha ha ha).

The other alternative: No cash shop at all would be preferable but apparently that little bit of virginity has been banished so why not go full force?

Anyone here like Jonathan Swift books?

[mrgibb]

Everything is acceptable as long as it isn't a BIS item.

[crakerjack]

I’ve never bought any thing from the cash shop. I think it’s sleezy and the only way I can protest it is by not using it.

[MoanaLisa]

BEFORE you start thinking about adding a CASH SHOP, you should first completely remove SUBSCRIPTION.

Well, that barrier is already down.

[Tyris Flare]

Always amazes me how people here have hard-leaning right tendencies yet simultaneously hate the idea of monetization and don't connect the dots between these practices and capitalism.

The answer to the OP is "whatever people are willing to pay," which as it turns out as a lot.

[bmjclark]

If the game has a sub - nothing. If not, cosmetics are fine. At worst, level boosts in an mmo aren't the worst thing in the world but I don't think they should be a thing in any subscription game. Wow should really only be selling character services like realm transfers or name changes

[Dracullus]

Like it is in WOW. Except level boosts. Everything else is just fine as it is.

Yeah, it's pretty pointless with current leveling. Although I would keep 1 for account (both for retail and classic) for people that want enjoy new expac on release.

And if we talk about services, we really need "move X characters together to another realm" option. I considered switching realm many times, but I want to keep all my chars on single realm.

[fatgunn]

I'm fine with it as it is now for the most part.

Pets and toys are fine as they are.

Legion, BfA, and SL have had decent enough mounts that it doesn't feel bad when one is on the store. In WoD it was painful. We got a whole herd of boars and they put two mounts that clearly should have been rep rewards in the shop. As long as we dont go back to that then I'm good with it. Store mounts also should not be utility mounts like the brutosaur.

Xmogs should be limited to stuff that doesn't fit neatly into the game. The helmets were a no for me, but I'm okay with the Sprite Darter set and the yeti pajamas from the blizzcon pass. Other goofy stuff like that would be acceptable as cash items imo.

And if we talk about services, we really need "move X characters together to another realm" option. I considered switching realm many times, but I want to keep all my chars on single realm.

GOD YES. I would love something like this. I want off my server but I don't want to move just my main...........