Tuesday 9 July 2013

Flight of Fancy - Silly Ideas for Micro-transactions in WoW


The big news last week was a datamined snippet of a potion/elixir that you would be able to buy at the in-game store which gave a 100% XP boost. Apparently it was confirmed today but only for the Asian markets but that hasn't stopped lots of people from talking about micro-transactions & in-game stores and the eventual decline of WoW to a free to play game!

I'm not too worried about all that to be honest but I did have a few stray thoughts as to what Blizzard might put in this new in-game store to tempt us gullible players into parting with even more cash! I'm sure they would include the existing pets & mounts which would make it even easier to splurge on them. Currently I think I've only bought maybe 1 mount & 1 pet & that was for a giveaway on my other blog but if it was easy access in-game, I think I'd find it harder to resist!

So here's my list of ideas so far - some old favorites that would be a perfect way for Blizzard to keep lots of people happy & some silly ones too :)


  • Good old armor dye packs - perfect for when you can't find that purple cloak to match the rest of your transmog maybe?
  • Tabard bag/closet - they took the key bag away to free up some space on the toolbar so maybe the tabard bag could be an extra slot in your bank that just accepts tabards & doesn't cost a lot of gold like Void Storage does!
  • Transformation potions - there are loads of nifty gadgets & baubles in game that let you change your appearance temporarily - some for 30 seconds & some for 3-5 minutes but most break when spell casting. Wouldn't it be fun to transform for say 1 hour & not have it break for any reason? Probably my favourite is the Super Simian Sphere but there's also Orb of Deception & Orb of Sin'dorei, a Time-Lost Figurine, Bones of Transformation & of course the Savory Deviate Delight too, just to name a few. Most are rare drops so having a 10-15 minute potion available could be a fun vanity item. 
  • Outfits for pets, saddles/bridles etc for mounts - don't need storage - just a drop down list of what you have & you click to select. Little tabards, head decor, maybe themed for time of year or in game festivals or even famous sports teams maybe?
  • Portal stones - like the ones you can grow on the farm but more useful! I'd say these would sell well especially if they went to more remote places & not necessarily to major cities - bit like the engineering wormhole generators perhaps.
  • Buy a lvl 90 but only of a class you already have at max level - part of the hassle of changing server is either paying to transfer or re-leveling. If you could buy a lvl 90 - in basic greens maybe - especially with the new Virtual Realms being discussed, I know I would be tempted. Make it cheaper than a transfer, race or faction change & more people will buy into it. There would obviously need to be some kinds of restrictions but if you already know how to play at level 90, why would you 'have' to level it all over again?

I'm pretty sure there will be all sorts of ideas & suggestions floating around & perhaps Blizzard will pick up on some of them, who knows. I just know it's a fun thing to speculate about & that's all it is right now. maybe in 2 years, I'll read this post & see how close I was!

What would you be tempted to buy? What would you put in the store that you think would sell well? Let me know in the comments if you'd like to :)

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2 comments:

  1. I like the tabard idea :)

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  2. Portal stones, tabard closet, mount bridles. All win!

    ReplyDelete