Realms Icecrown become an arcade mode cashcow

[Traton]

I have played on and supported Warmane for over 11 years, when it was still Molten wow. Through all their trials and errors I have supported the developers watching them progress and grow. I have started to notice more and more that the server is becoming almost arcade-like, and players being forced into purchasing almost all content.

Most people have settled on Icecrown, with several alts and years of time invested, if they were to move to another more blizzlike realm now because of this new feel to the server, they would have to sacrifice almost all their time previously invested into the game.

I respect that the server needs to make money, and I respect that donations are needed. Although, I feel that to ruin originality of why and how the game was made is not exactly something a larger % of the players prefer.

I plead that the GMs consider some change, to allow more balance and more content to be obtainable without the need to donate, it will guaranteed create a scenario where people would want to spend more time online for one, and two allow more long term growth. As people are feeling this arcade style realm, they are leaving slowly but surely, losing their feel for the game and not wanting to re level, re gear and redo all achievements, not being absorbed into the world of warcraft game like they used to be. Its not the patch they are tired of, its the real itsemf is evolving into a logg in and logg off kind of realm.

Also, Mercenary mode and the merge has caused a huge imbalance for horde, low geared factions are quing up against exceptionally higher geared factions on a far too frequent basis.

Just venting and hoping Warmane does not take this as an offense, but more an opinion of the community that really has the servers best interest at heart and to understand some of the frustration that is happening internally and not being raised. I have several friends who have had the same feeling towards the current state of the realm, as well as many more players when discussing their experiece on Icecrown.

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I have started to notice more and more that the server is becoming almost arcade-like, and players being forced into purchasing almost all content.

Most people have settled on Icecrown, with several alts and years of time invested, if they were to move to another more blizzlike realm now because of this new feel to the server, they would have to sacrifice almost all their time previously invested into the game.

I respect that the server needs to make money, and I respect that donations are needed. Although, I feel that to ruin originality of why and how the game was made is not exactly something a larger % of the players prefer.

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What do you mean by "content to be obtainable without the need to donate"?
Are you saying that just because some people buy gear the gs required to enter raids are really high and unobtainable? That's not true, there are icc 10 n raids that start at 5k which is easily achievable within a couple weeks. Sure, you won't clear LK in them, but you aren't meant to - it's meant to be a gradual process, not to enter icc first time and get LoD. This realm has been around for ages so ofc there are loads of people fully BiS and guilds farming LoD that have requirements like 2-3 characters with 6k+. But there are just as many middle ground guilds where new players can join.

Pardon if that's not actualy what you mean, but that's what it sounds like.

I've seen people say the store is more like a catch up mehanic and fully agree, it's just that, an optional catch up mehanic. Not a barrier for new players to join. And yes if to specualte it probably does generate a lot of $, but so what?

As people are feeling this arcade style realm, they are leaving slowly but surely, losing their feel for the game and not wanting to re level, re gear and redo all achievements, not being absorbed into the world of warcraft game like they used to be. Its not the patch they are tired of, its the real itsemf is evolving into a logg in and logg off kind of realm.
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I mean atm it's the most populated realm so I don't get where you're getting the people leaving it from. The fact that they recently opened another realm just to take the load off it says otherwise.( and the way Frostmourne works, you already have at least some people joining Icecrown at the end of every season, not to mention Frsotmourne it self being great for new players to join the server) And for the other bit, how is the store related to it? It's an old realm ( think 3 years now?) in an ancient game that people have been playing here for over 10 years, yet there are still enough people repeating it, even if it's "arcade-like".

I won't comment on PvP as I don't personaly play it.

[WARARMY]

Play on Lordaeron. Plenty of Shadowmournes there too. None were donated. All were 100% legitimately obtained by players.

[Crystalleia]

I plead that the GMs consider some change, to allow more balance and more content to be obtainable without the need to donate, it will guaranteed create a scenario where people would want to spend more time online for one, and two allow more long term growth. As people are feeling this arcade style realm, they are leaving slowly but surely, losing their feel for the game and not wanting to re level, re gear and redo all achievements, not being absorbed into the world of warcraft game like they used to be. Its not the patch they are tired of, its the real itsemf is evolving into a logg in and logg off kind of realm.

I'm not quite sure what you mean in regards to 'content to be obtainable without donating'. From what I've seen, most of the people who do donate only does it to skip the queue, and those who spend for actual gear are still in the minority.

There's also no cited statistical basis for the leaving part, considering we're still population-capped on peak times, which is a question mark to me. Either way, that kind of 'endgame boredom' is kinda expected with years of account of progression (donate or no donate), where your account economy can BoE your new alt's way into RDF then quickly into ICC in a week or two.

...Which brings me to another point, that isn't the Frostmourne model aimed to cater to this segment of players anyway? While you advocate for change, I don't see what kind of changes you have in mind that Frostmourne or Lordaeron doesn't already do, as the post is very vague in that regard.

Icecrown at its heart is a more casual realm alternative compared to the other two, and honestly, I prefer it that way.