In order to alleviate all the upset about the advantages three days early access would grant players who pony up the cash, Ion has stepped up to reassure us that no, you don’t get any advantages whatsoever. No M+, no good loot from rares, not even profession points or weekly profession cooldowns. Kinda making it seem like a really mediocre selling point to be honest. It seem like a questionable business move when you have to have to simultaneously make it seem like a cool head start, but also reassure everyone else they’re not actually getting any real head start at all.
Of course it doesn’t even address the other big issues people have with it, such as the blatant money grubbing of it all and how insulting that is to players. Or how it fragments the player base at the expansions launch, when historically that’s when the sense of community from the shared experience is at its highest.
I mean, I’m still pretty happy with it. However, let me reemphasize…I did not buy the epic edition for the early access. I bought it for the rest of the items, which made its value worth it to me.
If anything it’s just an added bonus for buying the larger package and not the reason for buying the larger package. Why can’t anyone see it this way? Everyone is taking it so personally that some people will get a non-advantageous 3 day head start.
You players that play this game religiously know full well that it means nothing to you and you’ll either be ahead of some of them or paced right up to some of them regardless.
Why is this a contention for an argument? Why continuously bring this up like it has been some great misdeed done to you personally?
In what world do we live in where in this game you think that playing the game 3 days ahead of the other is giving some people god mode? The bots will farm for the market cartels like they always do and control the market like they always do. Nothing will change.
Do you think that because you’re not there 3 days in advance that you had some superior motive to end the mafia’s control in game on AH prices? Do you think that if you’re there 3 days ahead of time that you’ll get all the loot before everyone else?
+1 mount is +1, I don’t care about the 3 day early access. Well, everyone else questing ahead so I can come moonwalking in on the weekend and quest in peace would be nice.
As will I when I get around to it. But that’s kind of the point, right? Historically the bonus cosmetics and whatnot have been enough for people to upgrade while those who aren’t fussed with them do not. Is there anyone who was swayed by the early access specifically? I would wager there aren’t many. If there are, I wonder how they would now feel learning all these restrictions on that access.
Why should that surprise no one? The fact that they had to explicitly address it tells me that people were expecting a head start on their professions.
You could leave in the mythic dungeons (M0’s) and access to professions and everything and it really wouldn’t matter.
As somebody who used to take time off for expansion launches, I don’t even bother anymore because the stuff you CAN do at launch is completely pointless. The instant power jump when M+ unlocks a couple weeks after expansion launch is so overwhelming that NOTHING you did in the 2 weeks prior matters at all.
Ion explained that in the Q&A. They added additional value to the base addition by including DF and the level 70 boost, so they felt they should increase the value of all of the packages. I think for a lot of us, early access doesn’t matter…but I am sure that it added value for some.
Even with the restrictions, you still start out day 1 at max level while everyone is still going through the leveling process, so no matter what, we will still be ahead in every aspect of the game if we were so inclined.
The only reason I rush at expansion launch is that it’s the only time you can actually feel like an explorer. Open country in front of you, and nobody else around.
If you’re ahead of the pack in that initial 5 minutes, and can stay ahead, it’s an experience you’ll never be able to have again.
The main thing, probably, is the chance to start the new xpac on a weekend instead of a Tuesday… assuming release will be on a Tuesday. I mean, Tuesday is usually a workday for people.