When WoW was shutdown in China for 18 months ago years back that really sucked. I could sympathize because I could not imagine losing access to my characters and missing out on expansions for seemingly no reason. So it made sense to recompensate those players. I thought giving them cosmetic catch up with a traders tender and a unique trading post vendor with items they missed was a good idea. Giving other rewards and the 2008 Blizzard bear mount was good too.
Then the first chinese exclusive items came out with the Voidforged Overseer and the Void-Bound swimsuit set with the cool hat that an npc taunts me with at Saltheril’s Soiree every week. At the time it made sense because they missed out on playing WoW so it was like a make-up gift.
Then there were the controversial Titan Reforged classic servers. This was not mere cosmetics but devoted developer time to unique classic servers that NA and EU would not have access to with unique style of content and gear to play with like legendary daggers that turns you into a dreadlord. But again, Chinese players missed out on a chunk of classic so it made sense so I think while eyebrows were raised it was moved on from.
Then more chinese-exclusive cosmetics were added. Then more. And even more. This raises the legitimate question: how long is this going to go on for? This is essentially a stacking debuff. In three more years how many more cosmetics will NA/EU players can look at but not have? Is there a reasoning to why they can’t have it? Was it some legality that was signed when the company offered to go back to China as recompense? If so, for how long?
Here is a current list of exclusive cosmetics that players in North America and Europe cannot access. If the current rate continues this list will double in a couple of years.
Mounts
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Voidforged Overseer
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The Count’s Crimson Carriage
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The Scarlet Duchess
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Miasma-Footed Snail
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Sha corrupted wolf and owl mounts
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Sensen the Bamboo Dweller
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Thunderhoof Celestial/Blazing Quilen
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Emberbringer (Flying mount with vendor/mail)
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Mechanical/Steel Prototype Panther MK-0 (Highly customizable)
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Frostshell Walker
Pets
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Wanderer Xiao Liu
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Auspicious Pixiu
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Miasma Bat
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Sha corrupted hippogryph
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Yaoyao Faerie Dragon
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Little Mei
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Yaya, the Fish Basket Beaver
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Backstroke Timbertooth
Toys
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Angler Boat
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Azure Thunder Coil Pillar
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Tuskarr Ice-fishing Tent
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Tuskarr Boat
Decor
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The Crimson Sire’s Throne
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The Countess’s Crimson Crystal Ball
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Fallen Castle Pipe Organ
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Blessings Furniture Pack
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Iskaara Fishing Rack, whale-bone rack, and hearth
Transmog
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Void Bound Swimsuit
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Straw outfit
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Nathria Noble Attire
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Scorching Conqueror ensemble
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Kalu’ak Fisher’s backpacks
I’m probably missing something but that is what I’ve found.
Suggestions
A simple suggestion would be to offer these cosmetics to NA/EU players after a time-delay. This way China gets access to them exclusively for let us say a year, which already seems unfair, but let us just go with that. Then offer it via trading post or promotion on the shop.
Overwatch had something similar in this regard. The Eagle of the Nile skins were exclusive to China. Then after two months the Ana, Mercy and Baptiste were available to the rest of the world (unfortunately Pharah is still not available). But getting most things would be better than none.
I’d like to see some type of solution to eventually get these cosmetics. The Thunderhoof Celestial is insanely cool and looks like it would have been the mythic mount if the Thunder King was released in modern wow. The Frostshell Walker and Tuskarr decor are amazing and feel like they should have been part of some Wrath classic cross-promotion.
I think it leaves a bitter taste in every NA/EU players mouth when they see these cool stuff that developers spent time making but can’t enjoy it themselves. That bitter taste will only get worse with each time it happens. I hope there is some solution that is reached.