WoW is P2W - Do you agree?

The rather flawed definition of spend real money to have a completed game can be applied to pretty much every game that ever existed.
I can buy a second hand copy of a game that someone else completed and I have completed that game.

It is pay to win since we pay the game and sub with grinding ingame gold, while others can just buy it with real money :stuck_out_tongue:

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I can pay my nephew £20 to complete Mario Kart for me.

Mario Kart P2W Edition? that sounds like a money spinner. you should take it to Nintendo.

That’s termed play to pay, which is also getting increasingly popular in games, because it’s a very strong retention design that ultimately nudges people toward spending more money.

Warcraft Rumble uses this design.

It’s free-to-play and it has an Online Store where you buy minions and power-ups for gold. And gold can be bought with money.

But gold can also be earned in-game by completing quests and dungeons and such.

So you can play the game and earn gold and buy things on the Online Store that would otherwise cost you money.

What’s the business angle?

That you never earn so much gold that you can get everything you want, so eventually you’re tempted to spend money. And that temptation grows as you get more engaged in the game, which you do because you’re spending a lot of time playing it to earn gold.

It’s good business.

WoW does it as well. It’s the only reason why you can convert gold to battle.net balance.

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I have a feeling that you posted this because I did not answer your earlier posts.

You got a super restrictive definition of P2W. And completely out of context.

Lets get the defenition of Cambridge Dictionary for P2W :

  • P2W: pay-to-win (in computer games) the practice of paying to get weapons, abilities, etc. that give you an advantage over players who do not spend money:

This is the most accepted definition of P2W. So stop being pedantic.

It gives ZERO advantage to buy gold with tokens. What it simply means is that instead of farming gold for 2h and then doing the dungeon you want to do.

You simply buy a token and play for 2h doing the dungeon you want to do.

Let me give you a very specific and recent example :

  • Can you buy a boost SoD mythic in MoP Remix? YES. Yes you can.

Does anybody care? Nope. All you get is a fancy title.

  • Some dudes exploit a bug and literally finish the grind in 1 week with frogs?

Outrage. Why? Because those who did not do the frog grind now have to grind for 3 months non stop to get the same rewards some exploiters got in 3 days.

THAT is a distinct advantage. And it wasent even boosting service or anything. Just a blizz screwup.

It is imperative to compare wow with other MMOs that ARE P2W.

Why? Because games like Diablo Inmoral or any Korean MMO there is no debate wheather money can buy distinct advantages in the game.

And because there is no debate in those games, you can compare to what goes on in WoW and help you make up your mind.

I mean… totally unrelated… but killing a chicken for a stew and killing a person… both imply murder. But if you compare them they are not the same. If it makes sense.

It is well within the reach of ANYONE to do a +7 dungeon. In fact, many people do it.

In fact, I will add that many people actually enjoy the progression from a +2 to said +7.

So I dont understand why you want to exclude key facts from the argument.

But Blizz does not boost anything. Its YOU that decides to give that gold to a boosting service. Who are external companies. Not Blizz.

That creates a dilemma. Because boosting has existed way before even the concept of P2W existed. Boosting is something that is done even by friends. Its not something you even pay for.

And im not kidding. It will be the 1000th time a friend/guildie asks me to go do a raid/key with his alt just because I have high Rio and max out gear.

This behavior has always existed.

So according to you, WoW has ALWAYS (before tokens or ingame shop) been a P2W win game right?

Also…

NO… Why?

There are so many things to do in WoW that assuming collectables are the only driving force is absurd.

First… WHAT collectables? I go mad for simple “adventure style” mogs. My buddy Ret Pala loves his shiny gold plate specifically. My GM goes crazy over pets. And my friend the MT of the raid is a Mount-aholic.

What cosmetic exactly are we talking about?

And then? Why cosmetics? My idea of “progression” is Rio. Others its Rating. Dunno…

Why?

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So you decided that WoW is Pay to Win, & anyone that disagrees with you is wrong.

Correct, you made a bait post.

If this makes WoW Pay to Win, then it has been P2W since day One.
Players have been able to buy gold since Vanilla, but when Blizzard sells a token, suddenly it’s P2W.

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I dont care one bit about collectibles as an example. I never do mog runs, i dont grind mounts, i dont collect pets and so on. My only real goal in wow is to have fun with my friends, i cant buy that. So for me personally, i cant pay to «win».

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What a completely outlandish bit of logic. That’s not how it works, and not even close to what people are saying.

I don’t consider it P2W. I achieve all my goals (M+, raiding, achievements) without paying anyone anything. :person_shrugging:

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No
/10char

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I can acquire a currency in the game and use that currency to progress my character.
I can acquire the same currency via the cash-shop and use that to progress my character.

For me, the definition of Pay-2-Win is an advantage you can ONLY gain by paying for it with RL-money.

I can buy a carry
I can get my friends to carry me for free
I can gear up and carry my own weight

That’s three ways to achieve the same goal and I can achieve all of them without buying a Token.

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OP had already made their mind up before making the thread that WoW is P2W, and is not ever going to be convinced otherwise.

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Check some other mmorpgs where u can buy stat boots for real money.

Until wow not offer these i dont call it p2w.

Just because x “buy” boosting services from y to faceroll z content for gear and some cosmetics, dont fall into this category.

People with zero skills still be garbage, no matter how “shiny” you are.

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He wanted an echo chamber. And everyone who disagrees he is trying to insult. He already called me stupid, or jealous, or a bad player, etc. :joy:

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Ofcourse not, they just want to be correct. And i can agree that yes u can buy token to then buy boosts and skip doing it yourself, i just dont agree that u actually win anything. Yes u now have a title and mount maybe, some achievs that others dont have. But that dont really mean much when u didnt do the work yourself. Whats the point in playing wow if you skip the entire journey? And why throw money at some pixels for a collection you will never be able to finish anyways? I dont get it, but each to their own. But you didnt win imo.

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Every video game and especially MMO games can be “p2w”. Open google, write “game name, boosting services” and you will get a tonne of offers.

Dont think there’s much in my account that i would miss if i had to start all over again. Only thing would probably be my Hand of A’dal title since i’ve been using that title for some years now and its not something i could get again. Everything else is just collecting dust, and i would still have all the memories i made along the way.

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You guys can not win in wow anymore. I won wow last sunday by playing TGP on the tournament realm with my friends. I had so much fun!

So i can now literally never win?..even if i get my credit card out??? thats a dissapointing but not surprising turn of events…