Blizz has said they will be using the exp nerfs of 2.3 at launch of TBC. This means leveling from 10-60 requires 30% less experience.
Given the boost is also once per account, only usable on TBC servers (not Classic Vanilla), has restrictions that it cant be used on the TBC races, the 60% speed mount, Dungeon Blues which are 99.9% going to be Dungeon T0 set, and no professions. Its not going to be harmful at all.
After all with the 30% less exp needed to level from 10-60 as well as nerfing open world mobs and elite areas leveling to 58/60 is a breeze but still takes time. Primarily this just gives new/returning players the ability to walk through the dark portal with us (growing the player base which is a good thing) allowing them, once, to save 20-30+ hours of leveling so they aren’t behind (level wise) when the pre-patch ends.
For those who say we will get players who have no idea how to play their class, we already have a bunch of people who don’t know how to play their class because they get boosted in dungeons by a mage.
Wait until you see the bots that are willing to make new accounts just to instantly get to 58 and start farming max level content, saving 100+ hours of leveling, massively increasing their output and profits.
Most people that already actively play Classic won’t even need to use the boost on any non-BE or non-Dranei character. People aren’t going to sit on their hands waiting for the prepatch they will 100% already prepare their char at 60 with professions, materials, and consumables ready to go before prepatch even hits.
30%… meaning 70% of it they still have to do, wherein they can be detected, reported, and banned before reaching high level content that has the serious capacity for causing harm.
1 week downtime for a bot vs 5 seconds to click the “buy boost” button is a very significant difference. You demonstrate a lack of critical thinking, which surprises me given the effort you have put in typing up your initial post.
Which is also made easier because outdoor dungeons are nerf.
They currently are reaching max level without bans because Blizzard is generally only doing Ban Waves.
Botting does need to be handled more aggressively. The first step to that is harsh punishments for those caught buying gold (1 week suspension for 1st offense, 1 month for 2nd, 1 year for 3rd, permaban for 4th). And having more GM’s or even deputizing players who’s reports will have more weight leading to faster bans.
The issue with bots is Blizz needs to be more proactive in banning as well as suspending people who buy gold.
The issue isn’t boosting then, it’s botting. You are asking them not to have boosting when you should be asking them to handle the botting issue better. I don’t understand how anyone arguing against boosting because of bots are not getting that. Talk about a lack of critical thinking.
I think the issue is Blizzard not giving a damn about the bots and then giving them a leg up with boosting.
If Blizzard actually maintained their game I wouldn’t care too much about boosting. But they’ve shown, without a doubt, that bots aren’t a priority for them. The boosting will make the problem worse.
That’s one of many reasons people give. The simple fact is that, due to Blizzard’s lack of effort in removing bots, boosts will be harmful. Significantly so.
Your argument is akin to saying it’s okay to put a bunch of vendors that sell full BiS in the sky because hackers are the real problem. Yes, hackers are a problem, but since they exist, having something that benefits them so much will cause problems.
Why make it easier for bots to do harm if you are incapable of preventing botting in the first place?
Which ironically with the TBC token system… Vendors do sell Tier Sets thus BiS pieces… Still have to earn the currency for said BiS items though.
But truely the issue is bots and not the boosts.
As I’ve been saying for a while now, Blizz needs to suspend players who buy gold, as well as getting harder on bots.
They could have a similar forum trust system where players may have more impact if they report because of their conduct has been good and have reported botters in the past which could have their reports go to the top of the line for a human person at Blizz to confirm and ban the bot.
Except that boosting will add a lot of new players into classic TBC that did not play Classic or got burnt out during the leveling. We all know people that that has happened to. “Vendors in the sky” does not help anyone in a positive way like boosting does.
So instead of arguing against boosting, you need to get on Blizzard about botting.
From what you, and a lot of other people who are against boosting for the same reasons are saying. If they fixed bots, you wouldn’t have a problem with boosting.
The tokens are obtained by raiding. You don’t just walk up to the vendor and get it for free.
It’s both. Boosts are bad even if bots didn’t exist, at all. But since bots do exist, boosts are even worse.
TBC itself is capable of that. Boosts are not necessary.
Anyone who isn’t playing because boosting doesn’t exist will quit a couple months into TBC because they clearly didn’t like the game enough to play it in the first place. They had to be bribed with the ability to skip a significant portion of the game.
I dunno, I’d like some BiS gear. I think that might benefit me quite a lot, actually.