Lets assume you play a dps spec.
If your 262 legendary is upgraded to a 291 one, its a dps increase of 70. Seems reasonable at first, but when you take into account that in an average pve setting you can expect to do 10k dps overall, this equates to a dps increase of 0.7%*. Now, math was never my area of expertise but it seems like this method of progression is a little problematic. Yes, it’s the first week. Legendary prices will drop. But even paying 200k for such an insulting increase just doesn’t make much sense to me. So why do I care?
A couple of points I’d like to make:
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Nobody is forcing me to buy the upgrade, but when such an upgrade is tied to the most powerful piece of gear you have, it feels like you have an obligation to upgrade it. I’m not a psychologist but that seems pretty logical.
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Blizzard doesn’t control auction house prices, but they know how economies work and they designed this desicion knowing the majority (read: majority, not necessarily you) of players will spend upwards of $100 on a gear upgrade that rewards you with a 0.7%* increase.
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Yes, I know that I can wait a few weeks or months before I buy the upgrade. That’s not my issue. My issue is that Blizzard absolutely knew what would happen, and designed a system that ensured they would make thousands upon thousands of dollars for a feature that has absolutely no impact whatsoever on gameplay.
It’s like Blizzard is going above and beyond to show their contempt for the player base. Paying anywhere from 200k to 800k for a virtual 0% increase in output might be justified if - wait a minute, no. Just no. That will never be justified.
The most worrying aspect about this disaster is the fact that Blizzard is encouraging the normalization of buying tokens for character progression. They aren’t holding the smoking gun, but they certainly created it and planted it in the right hands.
I can only see this trend getting worse every expansion. If the game was high quality, it would be completely alright. Blizzard, I’m scolding you for plotting this. You knew that people would be compelled to upgrade their gear as quickly as possible. You knew how rare the mats would be. You knew that, above all else, you valued profit at the complete expense of meaningful progression.
Blizzard knew all of this, and are taking advantage of as many people as they possibly can.
I’m calling Blizzard. I’m going to speak to a customer representative, and very strongly let them know my feelings on the matter. I won’t be gentle, or even amiable. I’ll be direct and straightforward. If met with resistance, I will stand my ground. If met with confusion, I’ll be happy to explain the reasoning behind my grievances.
We must be the change we want to see in this world. That global change starts here and now.
- a helpful player corrected my math. It’s a 0.7% increase instead.