People who are buying the boost because they hate classic but love tbc should maybe consider that what they love is an idealized version of the game that actually exists. tBC is an EXPANSION to classic, not a standalone game. It is not fundamentally different from classic in any way as far as core gameplay goes.
My fear is that the people who buy boosts are the most likely to quit in a short timespan, and I think Blizzard thinks so too. They offer 1 free boost in retail because they are confident that people who use it will subscribe long term and give them more money in the long run. They aren’t offering the boost for free in classic because they know the people who will use it will just quit in a month. Blizzard thinks, why not make a quick 4 months of sub time off them before they figure out they hate the game.
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How about don’t tell me what I think or what I want?
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there’s no need to take anything personally, I never said anything about you.
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Seriously? I love Classic and BC, I don’t think the boost is a good idea, and I’m still gagging on your disingenuousness here. “People who are buying the boost because they hate classic but love tbc” are actual people and you most certainly said something about them.
I said they should maybe think twice before buying a boost. I’m sorry for helping people be aware of what I think is a scam/.
I only played classic because I knew we were going to get TBC. Classic is fine but if theres literally any other option (like TBC or WOTLK), most people wouldn’t touch classic. Once TBC drops I’ll never ever touch classic again, even if it ends up being the only option again.
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Thank you for your public service announcement. I am sure people were not capable of deciding what to do with their own money. You are the hero we need right now.
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Rejoice people that wanted Classic+, we got it!
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I have several friends coming for TBC whom said without the boosts they would not. Blizz decision on boosts was based on getting subs back for TBC that did not want to level through Classic. So working as intended
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I disagree. I think Blizzard made a calculated decision here after viewing the survey results. I’m an altoholic and love leveling up many alts, but I will use the boost if it’s available. I played back in TBC and enjoyed it and am super happy they are releasing Classic TBC this year. I think this one time boost is going to bring lots of people back who don’t like Classic leveling but definitely want to play TBC. I have like 8 friends who are coming back who are boosting and plan on leveling alts. None of them liked Classic but loved the hell out of TBC which is when they all started playing too.
This boost is a way for people to get their foot in the door so they can jump into TBC content and not be behind. They’ll be hooked and most likely level more alts, which is good for realm populations. This one time boost gives you a level 58 with dungeon gear and a crappy mount and no professions. they won’t be able to compete with Naxx-geared 60’s. They won’t have much gold either. It’s not like they can get multiple boosts on their account. You have to pay for the boost too. It won’t be free. Probably $60. And we’re not paying a box cost for it so it goes to operations and development for future legacy servers like WotLK.
I think the main issue we should focus on is the bot problem. That needs to be dealt with.
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My main question I am trying to address is this: Why does blizz offer a free boost in retail but not classic? I believe the answer is that a free boost is not as profitable as a paid one in this circumstance, i.e. the people boosting will not stay with the game in the long term.
Your assumption of boosters being tourists is unsubstantiated.
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Because in retail you get it “free” after spending money on the newest xpac.
There is nothing to buy with TBC classic.
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The boost has restrictions on it. They are making it paid and one time only to deter people from doing it and to avoid pissing off classic purists. You also can’t boost blood elves or draenei. Kind of a middle of the road solution. They probably saw on the survey that a lot of people wanted boosts but a lot of people didn’t want them either.
And I think we are lucky that Blizzard are even creating legacy servers to begin with because they were against it for the longest time. Classic/Classic TBC is basically “free” with a regular Retail sub. There is no expansion to buy and I think it’s fair for them to recoup the cost of developing this. They even said they are thinking of creating future legacy servers but that requires resources.
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“You think you do but you don’t”.
That was directed at a completely different audience than what we have now. So that statement was completely false to those that wanted authentic OVERALL Vanilla.
However, to this watered down crowd, it is completely applicable.
The boost is just a money grab from blizzard. I understand their logic in making it an option. What I can’t understand is why people want to pay to get a boost in TBC. If you don’t want to level and want to boost straight to BC, you are playing the wrong game. I cannot imagine paying to not play the game. This isn’t a mobile game or a slot machine game, its an MMO with roots from 15 years ago and we are about to be playing it again because the retail version of the game can’t offer a satisfying MMO experience anymore. The saddest part of this whole conversation is that we are excited to play a game that was released 15 years ago again over what is currently available. Boosts in TBC make no sense, I don’t expect blizzard to change, you know where their minds are at, just look at the monetization in retail. Hopefully if anyone reads this and was considering boosting, you may save some money and buy/play another game altogether because I don’t think TBC is your cup of tea.
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Hook > Habit > Hobby
The suits thought classic was going to be a meme, this is obvious due to lack of it being talked about until after it became successful. Now that a sizable bloc is playing it, they smell blood in the water and have started the push for monetization. The “one time” boost is testing the waters, if it nets enough profit they will expand paid services.
I’ll be leveling a draenei priest when pre patch hits but i can easily explain the boost concept. I hate leveling, it sucks. I don’t play wow to level but enjoy end game pvp (and in tbc pve). Now you understand 
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My guess is that the boost will probably get used the most by people already playing the game who just want a quick alt, but it’s not like any of us can really do more than just guess. None of us can actually prove our claims.
Other than that I agree with Elaice. I think this is testing the waters and if it makes them enough money we’re going to see paid services expanded.
I also expect it will make enough money. Classic’s leveling experience wasn’t designed to “encourage” paying your way past it, but it certainly lends itself rather well to that design. Leveling can be an absolute slog if it’s not something you like doing.
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They offer the “free” boost when you buy the expansion pack. In BC you get the game for free and pay if you want a boosted character.