Black Raven Dragoons

[Damorte]

Well my goodness, just got this in my email today. WoW must be panicking! A free lvl 80 boost AND free Cataclysm? Yikes.

Andrea,

Oscardgrouch wants you to come back to World of Warcraft® and included this message:

"Remember the good times in WoW?
I do, so it's time to come back!"

Upon your return you'll receive:


• A character boost to level 80
• FREE upgrade to Cataclysm

Plus:


• Seven Days of FREE Game Time.
• A FREE Transfer to your friend's realm.
• A FREE Faction Change to your friend's faction.

You may need to re-install World of Warcraft, which has been made much faster with a new streamlined game client.


• Download the game client after you accept the invitation.
• See updated game guides for World of Warcraft.

For more information on the Scroll of Resurrection of please visit the FAQ.

Enjoy your adventures in Azeroth!

- The World of Warcraft Team

[Grimblast]

First government bailouts and now Warcraft ones too! Sounds like a desperate plea to get some of their subscribers back. Kind of takes the fun out of leveling to get to the content. Plus Cataclysm really isn't all that great. It's why most of us quit WOW, hah!

[Zancarius]

First government bailouts and now Warcraft ones too! Sounds like a desperate plea to get some of their subscribers back. Kind of takes the fun out of leveling to get to the content. Plus Cataclysm really isn't all that great. It's why most of us quit WOW, hah!

Yeah, exactly this.

Seems like they're pretty desperate for subscribers. I especially find it interesting that they're doing free realm/faction transfers for people who might have friends elsewhere, in addition to a free copy of Cataclysm.

There's a few things that turned me off, but I think the real straw that broke the camel's back when I had considered giving it a try for a month or so was some of the stuff Josh told me with regards to basic game mechanics that have been part of the core game model since very early beta. I nearly died when he told me that the threat mechanics were all but completely torn out, and that it's basically just become a button smashing free-for-all. I really liked WotLK, because when we were playing it, raids would get you killed if so much as one person did something insanely dumb or bit off way more than they could chew (because they had more "stamina;" BTW, hi Hashel!). Sure, dungeons were becoming somewhat monotonous for the only purpose of getting badges, but I'd blame that on the gear design. You didn't really have much of a choice if you were already saved to a raid or were trying to get up so you could join one. Dumbing down game mechanics doesn't fix gearing issues (nor does gear fix problems people have with mechanics). It's just an act of desperation from the development team of a company's cash cow that's watching that cash cow grow older and less relevant.

[Highgrade]

I agree. Here is a basic fact if people are unhappy with your product giving them more of said product for free will not make them happy. Reminds me of a story, I had some really crappy food served to me at a resturant. Naturally I complained And didnt go back. Three weeks later I get a coupon for a free meal at the same resturant. Free did not make the food any better it was still shity. Let's make the game better not cheaper.

[Zancarius]

Exactly, HG.

That's why I figured that the best option is to vote with our pocket book. If we don't like the product, we don't buy it. Economic pressure does wonders, if the company can get a clue before they totally screw the pooch. I'm not really sure Blizzard's going to realize that...