Breakfast Topic: The great Battle.net merge
It was announced yesterday that Battle.net accounts would be mandatory for us World of Warcraft players. I'm not sure if November 11th is supposed to coincide with a patch drop or anything (unlikely). It's been a pain in the derriere (that's French for ass) for GMs to unmerge compromised accounts. A common tactic hackers like to use is to commandeer a WoW account and merge it with their own Battle.net account. It's not something that can be easily undone.
Of course, an announcement like this comes with all sorts of complaints. I've perused the forums on the topic and checked out some of the comments when we announced it here. Here's a few common reasons players are against it. Just for kicks, I've offered some solutions!
Common excuses
Lack of trust in the Battle.net system since some players who converted had their account hacked after (Solution: Get an authenticator)
Privacy concerns since email address is the sign-in
(Solution: Make a new email address and use that instead of your personal or work email)Multiple account hassle
(Solution: It's one email login where you can choose which WoW account to get into and yes, you can login simultaneously to different WoW accounts attached to the same Battle.net account)My WoW account has a different name then my Battle.net account
(Solution: Don't buy accounts)I'm too lazy
(Solution: Guess we won't be seeing you in game anymore)
Regardless, Blizzard appears to be adamant about this. I've had a few guildies myself who didn't like the idea. I've heard some players were considering quitting which I find extreme. Over what? Because Blizzard's implementing streamlined account changes for the sake of security and convenience?
Come on now!
If you're a GM with players like that, you're not going to have much of a choice other than to call their bluff. Start shopping around for other players to fill their position if they're serious about leaving. Because once November 11th rolls around, you really don't have another choice.
Those are my personal thoughts on the issue. Where do you stand?
