You need curve to get invite? Just buy boost, even I considered it for a moment having to go through 100 pug wipes on Queen Ansurek HC. This goes for rader_io scores as well. Need ilvl, buy boe gear from AH.
Then when you getting into group content the experience suffers immensely. Executives will have little to no interest fixing this issue, likely due to amount of revenue you be able to generate from selling tokens that people will use to buy boosts with.
I imagine there are plenty of developers who genuinely want craft a good product. But corporate practices hinder their ability to do so. What’s worst about this, that through games such as PoE or Dota2 it’s already proven that you don’t need to use pay to win tactics. These games generated hundreds of millions through just cosmetics.
//very late edit: The reason this is issue, because you will group with people with scores and achievements. But because they purchased it, they will not know how to play and game experience will suffer. I don’t care about token or making own group I am way ahead of you in that regards trust me.
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Just run your own group, no curve or ilvl required. Or join a progressive raiding guild.
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Make your own and invite who you want?
Invite every low gared inexperienced freeloader your heart desire!
No one stops you to be the One, Neo, who break this vicious cycle!
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I think it’s one of those Pandora’s box situations where you can’t really undo it, unfortunately.
On the one hand it’s the WoW Token. And because it makes Blizzard a lot of money and players have shown that they’re willing to accept a World of Warcraft where the WoW Token exists, then it’s not going away.
And on the other hand it’s the layoffs and cost-cutting of Game Masters and other support divisions that would otherwise be responsible for taking actions against botters and gold sellers and so on. And again players have shown that they are willing to accept a World of Warcraft with less in-game moderation and more cheating going on. And therefore Blizzard don’t have any incentive to improve in this area.
So it is what it is, unfortunately. And because of the above, then there are no brakes on this car, and it will just go faster and faster and faster.
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Well you can create your own run or just buy that boost or the problem is your economy ?
People are smart and tries to find solution if there is a problem …and your problem is ??
Money= farm ~ do some nice Investment and you can be millionaire in few days …
Boe ? Boes exist since classic… so i don’t see any problem with boes .
So how is pay to win since you can earn unlimited amount of gold and you can easily if you have the skill join Method or Liquid raid group.
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Its not pay 2 win, its pay 2 progress. Your ability to play wont magically change aftrr getting gear and curve, if anything its pay 2 grief people’s content
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With or without the token, people will buy gold and boosts. With the token you won’t get scammed or banned for buying the gold.
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Except people paid gold for boost runs long before the token existed.
It has never been against the rules to have a boost. With or without the token, providing the transaction is for in game gold. It’s not a supported transaction either. So if you get scammed you are unlikely to get the gold back but the thief will be punished.
However there is no need to have to buy a boost for Ahead of the Curve, you can join a guild, a community, make your own run, join another run without requirements.
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Do you even get scammed or banned if you buy from third party sites?
My impression is that they deliver the gold for a lower price than Blizzard, and that they try to offer a good service because they rely on return customers.
And Blizzard don’t ban anyone for buying gold these days anyway. You aren’t allowed to, but it’s not a rule Blizzard enforces.
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When it is about curves it is really foolish to buy it with so many other options currently available.
Sure, but the ability to buy gold through an official Blizzard channel has proliferated the practice and normalized it beyond comparison.
You can argue that it’s not to the detriment of the game, but it’s not an argument I would make.
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That’s in Classic WoW, a year ago, when Blizzard were trying to curb the GDKP runs that players were responding negatively toward.
Again the point is that Classic players, at the time, wouldn’t accept a World of Warcraft with rampant gold selling going on, so Blizzard had to take action. And they did, in that part of the game.
But that is not the reality in Retail WoW, or the rest of WoW today for that matter.
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Boosting is not something that is dependent on the token. I do dislike how people misrepresent that every time. We didn’t have some boostless haven until the token appeared. It was everywhere, initially you could only get boosted on your own realm, there have been many changes over the years as the game has evolved.
Blaming boosting on the token is like blaming boosting on achievments.
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No, but the WoW Token provides an easy path of entry - a credit card - to getting boosted.
When buying gold was less rampant in the game, the players who got boosted would to a greater degree have earned their gold through playing the game.
And that’s the intended design, that effort leads to rewards, not that credit cards leads to rewards.
Or well, it was the intended design.
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They introduced the token reducing the number of compromised accounts from buying gold from third part sites. It also introduced a play for free feature, allowing those that earn gold in game to pay for their subscription.
Personally I think the token is a positive in the game, not a negative.
We simply feel and see things differently on that front.
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Of course you do. Plenty of people bemoan they haven’t received their gold or they’ve been given a suspension due to it.
I suppose I should have written suspension and not banned. It most certainly is a rule that is enforced, a friend of mine was given a suspension for trading gold with a friend who had bought it from a goldseller. That, she didn’t know, but it was marked so 
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Sure, but as a consequence the WoW Token also proliferated the buying of gold - through the WoW Token and third-party sellers.
Like the OP I won’t make the point that it didn’t exist before. My point is that it’s gotten proliferated and become more rampant.
I had a friend lend me gold to buy flying in Classic, I didn’t realise he’d bought the stuff when he offered. So shortly after lending me the gold he got a short term ban. In the days he was suspended I earnt the gold back in game and paid him on his return 
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