Hmm… somewhat unrelated - or maybe not, can’t be sure - but I do have a fairly specific question concerning that statement.
Why are half the answers to this (and probably half the other topics which raise similar questions) come down to “Just shut up and take it.” instead of people ignoring the topic and moving on?
As you said, people don’t have to provide an answer if they don’t want to.
Why are you asking me about how other people answered?
Been there, done that. Content is boring so you get to what is fun.
This! I get to enjoy the totality of the game but without the time sink. I’m not in front of my computer all weekend camping out a spot for 6 hours for a mount.
Today on remix Moon Guard, the Celestials are bugged, they don’t walk to the center anymore so you can fight them, they just stay in their corners. But, there’s always a group of people who just keep on waiting, as if these “welfare threads” is all they have to do.
Made me wonder, maybe some players don’t do dungeons or scenarios and only do outdoor bosses… maybe dungeons are too hard for them…
One word answer: alts.
Meaning: Playing the same content multiple times to level up alts can get tired very fast. Blizzard have more or less forced players to repeat the levelling experience in a current expansion in order to gain Renown and level up professions. If anyone feels cheated, its players who have to take those same quests over and over.
One solution: remove the restriction on the number of professions that can be learned and worked on by one character - let a character be able to do all of them. Absorb gathering materials into the appropriate craft (ie leatherworkers can automatically skin, crafts that use herbs can automtically farm herbs, crafts that use ore can automatically gather ore). Other games do it and work just fine. That way, if you wanted to, you could have say a main for general gameplay, and a second character as your professions toon.
Because you prompted the question by making a similar statement.
And further prodded by attempting to deflect it with another question.
If you don’t want to be prodded further, then simply don’t reply.
Some value in that point, but it’s only a partial answer.
I could make some assumptions, but perhaps clarification would be in order.
It’s true that some players don’t do instanced group content… but it almost never has any relation to their ability to do that content. It’s usually down to avoiding the people they encounter in them.
But are you sure they’re actually waiting for the the Celestial’s to spawn? People do figure this out fairly quick in most cases, and aside from a few hopefuls, many are quick to move on.
You’d be surprised at how time can slip away when you’re idly flipping through collections for whatever reason.
Hmm… interesting take, but I somehow doubt alts and multiple professions are much of a factor. At least not for your average player. It’s certainly an obstacle for a player who likes to do everything for themselves, but I just don’t see that being very common.
While certainly a valid solution for the issues regarding professions that you raised, I don’t think there’d be a huge uptake on that becoming available. As mentioned, it’s just not something the average player will do.
… but it does get me wondering.
The term comes from mobile gaming, referring to that very small subset of players who are going to spend VAST amounts of real-world money (far more than the average player) to obtain everything they can in the game. They’re quick to advantage of convenience and have ample disposable income.
So is Blizz tailoring the game to target - or, heaven forbid, create - whales who will pour huge sums of money into the game above and beyond the basics of paying for the baseline subscription and expansions every couple of years?
That doesn’t change the fact I can’t read people’s mind.
No, I’m not deflecting. What is there to deflect?
I don’t feel like I’m being prodded. Your question is silly because I can’t read people’s minds.
If someone is deflecting it’s you. You’re the one that responded to my point that it’s none of your business why people do the things they do and you should just be happy with the handful of honest answers you got with asking me a question that I can’t answer.
And I made that statement because you imply that people owe you an explanation.
Leveling is boring, I’ve done those quests dozens of times and they’re all the same as each other “Go here kill X mobs/collect Y things” and repeat. The mobs are boring, suitable as a challenge only to the disabled or the new and it all takes so damned long. The leveling in this game is such a chore that Blizzard even sees fit to profit off it directly by offering their own boost for real money, and not a pittance either it’s 60 dollars.
The thing that supplies all boosts is the idea of the reward for the thing you skipped not being worth the investment of time/energy that it would take to accomplish. As an example I wanted the mythic Fyrakk mount, but I play this game with friends who being blunt, aren’t that good at the game. My options are either stop playing with my friends for a few months to join the guilds who are doing that content, or just pay up some gold. Since gold is one of those things I can acquire in abundance without having to leave my friends I reasonably chose this option.
Other people taking this route might be the friends who weren’t good enough, or the people with commitments that prevent them from devoting the time required, or the people who just plain don’t like doing the thing that is required for the reward, either way those people have options and for one I’m just happy it’s handled in the game layer rather than being a direct “buy mythic fyrakk mount from the shop” or whatever end-reward is your interest.
Because blizzard put a services channel in the game and tacitly acknowledged that people are going to sell boosts regardless of if it was allowed or not, so might as well make it allowable and limit where it’s being advertised to a channel people can leave if they want.
Bigger question, why does it matter if someone buys a carry? Their purples don’t make your purples weaker so why does it matter? Your prestige is still intact as people who bought a carry are easy to tell apart from those who did things legit so is it just a case of you don’t want others to have the rewards at all?
It’s called casting a wide net. As for the rest, I’ve been honest with my curiosity and simply wanting to understand the motivations of people.
But if it’s any comfort, I believe I found the answer shortly before your reply - it’s whales.
And ironically, all from someone suggesting it was down to something that seemed outside what would be considered the normal range of player behaviour.
Like every mobile game designer out there (well, arguably most modern games), Blizz is targeting “whales” who will spend more than their basic subscription fees for speedier advancement. Paid level boosts? WoW tokens? Paying for guaranteed access to the beta and a premium for early access to the expansion’s content at launch?
All aimed straight at the whales.
With that in mind, it is starting to make a lot more sense… along with the fact that you can’t really use the argument of “average player” into this whole topic of discussion anymore.
It’s about the whales, and they operate on different rules than your “average player”.
You’re a bit behind the whole discussion throughout the topic, but I’ll summarize some key point for you.
The reason the question was raised in the first place was due to how pervasive boosting and carries are, and trying to understand the underlying motivations of those who buy them. It is an offshoot of some other topics, and there seemed to be quite the disconnect going on as neither side seemed to grasp the fundamentals of what the other side was arguing.
Because, if I’m being perfectly honest, I wouldn’t care in the slightest if it was the odd boost or carry… but it almost comes across as the norm for the game at this point.
The other factor is that it appears the aspects of the game I’ve enjoyed have becoming increasingly devalued over the years. As you said yourself, leveling is “boring”; but for a story-minded player, it’s what they prefer doing as that’s where the bulk of the story-related content is.
Because, believe it or not, I genuinely don’t care about purples or prestige. I just want to experience and enjoy the story… yet something appears to be trying to devalue the aspects of the game I enjoy.
But again, I think I get it now. Boosts and carries are for whales.
And Blizz is targeting them because they generate more revenue than players like me.
So, does it matter? Depends on how you look at it.
Cater to the whales too much, and everyone else leaves.
I shouldn’t have to explain what happens next.
Asking a question isn’t dictating anything.
Me have no time.
Me give money.
Me play.
My guess would be a sizable portion of the player base doesn’t view the leveling bit of the game as “playing”.
Reminds me of the South Park episode about wow. They kill a billion boars, get to the cap, kill the ganker and then “they can actually play”.
I used one and it was a mistake, so have never touched another. I have a ton of alts just to collect their heritage stuff, boosting prevented that.
I feel like just using them and deleting the characters. Seeing them on my screen annoys me. Been sitting there for years because I feel if I do that, I’ll regret it too. 
Infiltrating? Like they are here to ruin your game? Dude I am over 50 and can’t physically sit in a chair long enough to GRIND. I come here to relax and play with my son. If those “casuals” are not here PAYING do you think Blizzard might be a bit tighter for money?
Players don’t want to play WoW. They want a platform in which to “earn, flaunt, beat” people and this game is easy especially for those who’ve been here. It’s not about the game.
It’s the only reason I can think for the continuous requests for ‘conveniences’, which remove the heart of the game.
And that removal is why I think so many people are disconnected.
And your answer will be ‘time-sunk fallacy’.
Folks gotta boost their ego somehow.
Please do.
How does it hurt you if there are less players in the wilds grinding? Do those whales hurt you in anyway that you would quit a game you enjoy? Is your joy tied to theirs?
Whale’s can’t influence the game in any meaningful way yet. Even if you bought 100 Million gold, which I know people who did through tokens, you’ll never affect the game enough, AH or otherwise, to where people feel inhibited. Maybe you own the BMAH, who cares. Other than that, whales do nothing.
Some stuff goes away, like AotC mounts. Those are worth buying a carry for, if you’re a collector that doesn’t care for putting in the effort to raid.