You’ve got it all wrong OP! You have to look at that from a different perspective…At first, I felt the same way you do. That ! was annoying the crap outta me but then I realized, I could use this to get a teeny tiny bit of satisfying pettiness right back at 'em!
Blizzard publicly stated in the past that offerings in the Shop will be tailored to player’s purchasing and browsing history. Which means, that when it comes to the Shop, your Account activity is being monitored in some way…SO! I saw this as an opportunity for me to be annoying right back!
I’d visit the Shop…click on a Mount, Weapons or whatever…maybe spend a few seconds hovering over an Armor…sometimes, I’d go to the Platinum section and let my cursor linger on the “Best Value” Platinum option then…I LEAVE…all the while I’m snickering, imagining to myself that there is someone at the other side of that screen thinking “Is she going to do it? Did she take the bait?”…only to be denied! 
It may seem odd but I get a little bit of enjoyment doing that…but that’s just me 
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I’m more annoyed by the ! notices on my materials tab icon every.single.time I pick up a veiled crystal or a chunk of iron. Really, Blizz? I have tens of thousands of them - I’m not getting excited by knowing I have 1 more.
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Artist wasn’t the word I was thinking but I don’t think it was your first choice either.
thats quite true. layoffs the staffs to improve DEI ratio.
In January 2024, Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees (about 9% of its gaming division) across Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax, just three months post-acquisition. This included 800+ from Activision Blizzard alone, per a Verge report citing internal sources.
Key Blizzard executives departed in January 2024: President Mike Ybarra, Chief Design Officer Allen Adham, and others like VP Adam Holisky, suggesting a shake-up in creative and strategic direction.
Post-acquisition, Microsoft has pushed inclusivity: Call of Duty added audio accessibility options via Project Acoustics in 2024, and Blizzard’s DEI initiatives align with Microsoft’s broader goals, per a 2024 Microsoft blog.
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I gusess that’s great for you - but the icon on the map screen that is exactly the same as in-game notifications, like your codex upgrades is cynically designed to draw people into the shop, and spend money on shiny stuff. I personally find it all very irritating as well - but as S8 is a bust I might not get as far as the map screen so no worries on my end.
Lemme check the shop(
calling me…).