Family & Friends – You Profit, I Profit
- I don’t care much about the new Family & Friends option.
- I don’t multi-box (need to buy another PC for that)
- I don’t have family or friends (that don’t already play)
- I don’t want a new mount (OK, I do, but it’s the Gyrocopter)
- I don’t want to support the RL Gold Sellers (Blizzard in this instance)
I don’t want to profit from other people’s profit!
Hang on… You profit, I profit. Win – Win?
Yeah OK…
So you get to invite your friend or family member to the game. Blizzard wants it to be easy for you, So I am going t make it easy for you too.
I think Blizzard have (maybe unintentionally) introduced a new gold sink into the game.
How you ask?
Well imagine this exchange (insert your own relationship here at will)
Son: “Dad, I want an MP3 player”
Dad: “OK Son, I want you to enjoy life – here it is”
Son: “I need a mobile phone so I can chat with my mates”
Dad: “OK Son, it will help you out in life”
Son: “All my friends hae a new Wii, I look silly for not having one, and I always loose when I play with them”
Dad: “Your self-esteem and reputation with your playing mates is important to me. Besides, if you can do more, so can I”
Son: “I need a new phone to exchange videos with my mates”
Dad: “/sigh, whatever you want Son”
Now suck this into the virtual vortex into WoW.
Son: “Dad I am level 10 now, I need shiney greens”
Dad: “OK Son, good idea, I am headingto the AH now”
Son: “Dad I am level 12 now, I need gear with x stat to take advantage of my new skills”
Dad: “OK Son…..”
Sooooo, all those crappy 20s green items become.. profitable 4g green items.
Auctioneers Rejoice!
Friends and family are going to be “power-leveling twinks” – as provided by Blizzard. You shall supply them with the highly inflated, soon to be replaced erstwhile vendor trash!
On a side note, remember that if you are creating a real twink (Supremely overpowered in a low level package) that the x3 leveling speed is potentially a bad thing. Experience, or gaining it too rapidly, is the No. 1 enemy of a twink – Aiming for 19 – don’t hit 20!
Anyway, I’m off to count my coin collection!
Gnomer & Out!
Here’s the plan.
I’ll put my notebook next to my pc keyboard. Start a ‘friends’ account and put my toon on follow. have them follow my main as i run and re run instance after instance.
i’ll pick up a few ppl from trade chat paying for runs then away i go. I wonder how long it would be before my level 70 couldn’t carry the toon through instances in a follow configuration.
Could a level 70 resto heal 3 active players and one leach through ramparts?
free xp and the toon never has to do a thing other than loot.
To be honest i have neither the time nor the inclination
I think this is a symptom of wow running expansion packs to keep existing subscribers. I suspect the work they are doing to keep us is making it less attractive for new players (people without a level 70 mate)
Notice how they have already tweaked questing rewards in 2.4, mounts at 30. To help the new people but to keep us happy Darknights are leveled up through the grind.
It must be a difficult balancing act. How do you let casual players feel that level 100 is achievable and still add new content for the bread and butter of their client base (level 100 is coming
might be 2010 but its coming ).
I would hate to level from 1-70 without having an alt to feed me money and run me through instances
I think this is the early signs that they are beginning to turn new clients away. It would interesting to know the drop out rate compared to the early days.
Look how many guilds now offering high level assistance to level you up.
How long before your new account comes with a level 60, 2 level 50s and 3 40s with mounts?
they need to keep the regulars hooked as well as drag in new punters. Interesting times ahead IMHO
Bring on the 60′s… it would be nice to have an alt or 2 that I could play for real…