Improve PvP Ecosystem by Increasing the Cost to Play with Shadowmourne
Summary: Decrease the number of shadowmournes on the server by increasing the cost to use it. The PvP ecosystem regains health and balance that was poisoned by the presence of so many shadowmournes, and warmane revenues stay the same as more revenue is captured from those who still wish to use shadowmourne, as well as from players now more willing to play and donate for classes which had their competitiveness restored by the reduction of shadowmournes they will face
**To those who say: "the people who pay more for shadowmourne will just dominate pvp more" I say charge those people more. And this trend continues where revenue from shadowmourne stays the same while actual shadowmournes on the server decreases until the number of shadowmournes on the server reflects what they would be in non pay-to-win conditions had players been required to quest for the item. let the whales of warmane own shadowmourne, and no one else- that is most blizzlike**
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Shadowmourne is an overpowered PvP item and it requires more attention in order to balance PvP servers and improve the quality of your players' experiences! A one-time expensive purchase is not enough of a cost as is evident by its widespread use, and this imbalance has led to degradation of your PvP ecosystem. I get it. Shadowmourne keeps the lights on. And that is okay. My suggestion does not hinge on removing from warmane this large amount of income from donators.
One option:
Make Shadowmourne a monthly subscription: for example, 5 coins per month, after the ~130 coins purchase price.
This is a legendary item. It was balanced by the extreme amount of effort and dedication and resources that players needed to get it. It should not be readily available to PvP servers by anyone who does a one-time purchase. No, there needs to be more commitment, expenditure, cost, blood, sweat, and tears if you want to destroy other players with it. Let's face facts: it is too available. It doesn't cost enough. This items shard-attack breaks rogues out of stealth who aren't even engaged in the fight. It should not be accessible in the same way that every other donated item is. In this post I suggest a monthly donation as a cost, but also a required daily/weekly quest chain or something of that nature could similarly be used to balance shadowmourne.
Good for warmane - steady income stream, as well as addressing an ongoing player concern
Good for the player base - PvP becomes more balanced: disincentivizing players from using shadowmourne opens up new channels of player behaviour, such as rolling new classes in response to the "re-balancing" of class strength that results from less shadowmournes on the server. As we know, if increasing the cost of shadowmourne leads to players re-rolling new classes, you can EXPECT to see more coin donations as they look to gear their new class. I know warmane
is interested in improving their players' experience as is evidenced by their seasonal realms, and I believe this is one way to try which doesn't need to erase revenue streams.
The above should not be understated. This could absolutely lead to a refreshment of the PVP scene: it could lead to a decline in the stale, limiting meta of "play arms war, ret pal, hpal, dk or lose" and influence players to bring other classes to the game as they gain a massive surge in competitiveness by shadowmourne's scarcity.
Those who wish to use shadowmourne still and who wish to be extremely competitive will still pay to use shadowmourne. But at least it won't be everyone, and at least they'll REALLY be paying for their advantage. The widespread use of shadowmourne tells that it does not cost enough, and that even casual players are willing to buy it for casual play at current price. That is not how a legendary should work. Change the setup so that there is less shadowmournes on the server that cost their owners more money or time. But probably money.. practically speaking for warmane.
