Co-leader of Activision Blizzard Mike Ybarra posted on Twitter.
This was the last straw for me. I don’t PVE, this has no effect on me directly, but it is an acknowledgement by the highest up position that this form of gaming is here to stay, and personally, I don’t like it.
I’ve managed to do all the things I’ve wanted in WoW and earned them myself. I’ve had so much fun in this game and did so by pushing myself to get better. I’ve never sold a carry, it just isn’t something I ever wanted to dip my toes into. Gold’s only value for me would be paying for my subscription, but I am lucky enough that I am offered overtime whenever I want it, and the $16/mo I would save by buying with gold is made much more quickly in overtime than it ever would be in-game.
It’s not like that for everyone though. I do know there are backdoor ways people are profiting off of this with RMT through earning gold and reselling. The token only exists because Blizzard wants to keep some of the profit, and to be honest, I can’t blame them. Why not right? Corporations exist to earn a profit. However, I do believe that even though the profit from the WoW token has likely been a great boon for the books, it has had unintended consequences that have gone unaddressed and has led to the downfall of WoW.
I am on Tichondrius and the vast majority of trade chat has just become a cesspool of sales for Huokan, private sales, etc. It’s not even possible to read trade chat as it comes through because the spam is so great. It ruins any sense of community, and to have it happen on Tich a server known for its PVP feels like it has toppled a giant. LFG tool is filled with carries linking to websites, Discord, etc. The worst part is rather than take action to prevent things like this, the developments to the game have often encouraged carries further. Such examples of this are the new arena rating cutoffs for upgrading gear.
All of these things would be forgivable of poor management of the company if Blizzard would begin to make changes. Good changes for the game, meaningful ones, especially at a time where competing MMOs are grabbing a disenfranchised playerbase and pulling them away. Alas, none of this is happening. Not only is it not happening in practice, it isn’t happening in the mindset of the highest up decision makers. That is what disturbs me so much. If the top of the top is selling carry runs then that is acceptance of the status-quo. I am not okay with that. Ybarra is in a position of power where he could do something about this, at the very least he could speak his mind about this matter and let us know how he feels about it, but he already did with that Tweet. That’s why I’m leaving WoW again.
Stop tiering off this game. Give us the same advantages in PVP and PVE as everyone else who plays. I can’t stand this pay to win nonsense that has become this game. The company has just consistently doubled down on gatekeeping players from content but giving them a push to believe it is necessary to do so. Changes are needed… big changes. As of right now I can’t justify giving you more of my money.