WoW potentially will go fully F2P .... someday
- Thread starter Purse
- Start date
lavahlight
warlock
lol dollars per second
Tyramissoux
Legend
There are enough addicts who'd pay even if the game was just a pair of hopping dots. And there are enough paying players in this bracket just for the advantage. I mean, just look at the game over time - they were robbing concepts from other games, having crappy graphics (which saves me now...) not much creative content. It's just not worth to pay for on a monthly basis yet they're making money like they found the secret alchemist's code to turn shit into gold.
Faerondil
Legend
Almost same thing was said just over 3 years ago.
http://m.pcgamer.com/2010/06/30/blizzard-discuss-making-world-of-warcraft-free
I wouldn't hold my breath...
BUT... I do think it would make fiscal sense for them to open up more micro transaction stuff for vanity or convenience. Especially for trial accounts
More xmog gear
More mounts and pets
Unlock vanilla content (level to 60, one time fee, no sub) maybe even BC and Wrath
Unlock professions
Unlock mail
Etc..
http://m.pcgamer.com/2010/06/30/blizzard-discuss-making-world-of-warcraft-free
I wouldn't hold my breath...
BUT... I do think it would make fiscal sense for them to open up more micro transaction stuff for vanity or convenience. Especially for trial accounts
More xmog gear
More mounts and pets
Unlock vanilla content (level to 60, one time fee, no sub) maybe even BC and Wrath
Unlock professions
Unlock mail
Etc..
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yasueh
OG
I'm in agreement with them that it should be done with a softly-softly approach, but the thing is they already have a perfectly good foundation in place to get started with that. I think it would make sense for the first few steps to be:
From there on paid unlocks could buy you raised level and gold caps (and profs would continue to be governed by normal level limits). Having smaller increments in level, istead of opening up a lot at once would make it more of a 'pay-as-you-go' kind of thing, so players wouldn't see it as a big payment for something they may not make use of if they don't like the game (which in turn encourages them to spend more on what they can use).
At some point between 40 and 85 Bliz could allow f2ps to start selling on the AH, and sending mail. The idea would be to have the cost of the unlocks needed to get assets off a free account, prohibitively high enough to deter gold sellers.
MoP (or whatever expansion is the latest) could remain subscription only, like how Rift handled it's transition to free to play, with the highest 10 levels still needing a subscription.
I think the main problems Blizzard would face with their transition are:
- Allow sending and receiving of mail between characters on a trial account.
- Raise gold cap to 25g, profs to normal level 20 levels (1st paid upgrade, to allow max bank slots).
- Allow receiving of mail on a trial account, from other accounts, and allow buying only on the AH.
From there on paid unlocks could buy you raised level and gold caps (and profs would continue to be governed by normal level limits). Having smaller increments in level, istead of opening up a lot at once would make it more of a 'pay-as-you-go' kind of thing, so players wouldn't see it as a big payment for something they may not make use of if they don't like the game (which in turn encourages them to spend more on what they can use).
- Raise level cap to 40, gold cap to 250g, and allow XP locking (in case you want to keep your 20s).
- Raise level cap to 60, gold cap to 500g.
- Raise level cap to 70, gold cap to 4,500g (needed for flight training).
- Raise level cap to 80, gold cap to 7,500g.
- Raise level cap to 85, gold cap to 10,000g.
At some point between 40 and 85 Bliz could allow f2ps to start selling on the AH, and sending mail. The idea would be to have the cost of the unlocks needed to get assets off a free account, prohibitively high enough to deter gold sellers.
MoP (or whatever expansion is the latest) could remain subscription only, like how Rift handled it's transition to free to play, with the highest 10 levels still needing a subscription.
I think the main problems Blizzard would face with their transition are:
- Their game does not have solid PvP throughout the levelling process. For other F2P games PvP gets a lot more attention, to the point of being the main focus of the game. They'd have to accept the fact that each bracket would need to be balanced.
- They've seriously messed up a lot of the low level PvE content, especially the raids, thanks to all the class, stat and gear changes.
- The AH is utter crap unless you're max level. It's per server, and not even CRZ linked, so it's utterly dead on a lot of servers, and especially at lower levels, making it largely useless.
- WoW's AH is also only half of a trading implementation, making it very unfriendly to casual sellers who can't be assed with constantly relisting (I'd assume F2Ps would be more casual than subscribers).
yasueh
OG
Well unlocking access to more BGs could be another microtransaction. That might even get Bliz to start making more BGs, so they can sell map-packs (with CTA weekends giving f2p access to the unlock only maps, perhaps not giving the CTA bonus to people without that map, just the ability to play it).
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Tyramissoux
Legend
Just open mail service for chars on your own account. But Blizzard would prolly fuck that up anyway...
When I asked a GM to put an item from one char to another on my account - > the first answered nonsense, the other said they can't do it because there were a lot of hackers doing crap with the free accounts, that's why they can't have mail service or items transferred. Yeeeeah right.
When I asked a GM to put an item from one char to another on my account - > the first answered nonsense, the other said they can't do it because there were a lot of hackers doing crap with the free accounts, that's why they can't have mail service or items transferred. Yeeeeah right.
Bisonpower
Legend
yasueh
OG
Well most GMs are exactly like the character in your sig, having no understanding of the systems they're supposed to be helping with. I'm surprised Bliz haven't outsourced their whole GM department to a company in India, like my bank's done with their customer service department (in fact they may already have done this and no-one would know, seeing as text doesn't have an accent).
Of course the problem isn't just at the minimum wage end of the company:
That right there is the core of the problem. The man in charge at Blizzard, despite his claims, is not a game designer. You can't do a good job leading the design process of any content, if you don't understand the processes that are involved in making it.
If you can't code and imagine ways in which your game systems may be implemented, then you have no business managing systems design, and if you can't draw and communicate how you want the game to look, you have no business managing artistic design.
Quite simply your ignorance and uncertainty will limit your imagination, and by being in a management position over people who do have the requisite knowledge and imagination, you will be holding them back.
I'm not saying he can't manage the people who should be doing this, and offering some ideas (because ideas should come from all sources), just that he shouldn't ultimately be leading a design process, and should instead be deferring responsibility to others. With him making statements like the one above, and with the title he has, I just can't see that being the current state of affairs at Blizzard.
If anything he should be doing the job titled 'Team Lead'.
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Grape
Legend
Be nice to have the max 60 lvl for F2P like they did with the basic accounts but also have it true Vanilla content as well with all revamped zones back to normal. Ony, Nax...
Groenboompje
Banned
I was already making a level 40 twink 
