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Lichborne: Pros and cons of boosting a death knight to level 90
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. So you want to play a death knight. You've looked at the class, you've read our descriptions, and figured, yeah. That's something I'd be into. Or maybe you already have a max level death knight but want a second one for fooling around or trying new specs without giving up your carefully crafted setups on your main. Whichever one it is, I say welcome to the club. That said, at this point in time, you have a unique choice to make, one you wouldn't have had to make it the past. Do you just start up your death knight alt, or do you wait a few weeks and use a level 90 boost instead? Today, we're going to look at the pros and cons of buying a level 90 boost vs. simply leveling your death knight from scratch.
Ion Hazzikostas explains level 90 boost pricing
WoW Insider posted last week about the level 90 boost that appeared momentarily on live servers during maintenance, and now Eurogamer has had the chance to discuss it with Lead Encounter Designer Ion "Watcher" Hazzikostas. Ion had this to say: We realised as soon as we came out with Warlords of Draenor boost to 90, we knew that there was going to be demand for more than 1. It's tremendously awkward to tell someone that you should buy two copies of the expansion just to get a second 90. That's odd. So we knew at that point we were going to have to offer it as a separate service. When pressed on the price, he responded as follows: In terms of the pricing, honestly a big part of that is not wanting to devalue the accomplishment of levelling. If our goal here was to sell as many boosts as possible, we could halve the price or more than that - make it $10 or something. And then hardly anyone would ever level a character again. But levelling is something that takes dozens if not over 100 hours in many cases and people have put serious time and effort into that, and we don't want to diminish that.I am not an economist, I'm not the one setting the dollar value myself, but it's not the profit maximising price. That was not our aim here. Ion's explanations make sense, but it does not alter the fact that $60 is a huge amount of money, more than almost anyone ever thought the service would cost. Ion's interview with Eurogamer certainly implies although doesn't confirm that the $60 price point is correct, or at least was intentional at the time. [Thanks for the tip, silvertongue0!]
Blizzard's reasoning behind $60 cost of WoW's level 90 boost revealed
What reason could Blizzard possibly have for the $60 price tag on World of Warcraft's upcoming level 90 boost? According to the studio, it's so that the accomplishment of actual leveling isn't devalued. Ion Hazzikostas, WoW's lead encounter designer, told Eurogamer that the idea behind selling the boost separately was so that players didn't have to buy additional copies of the Warlords of Draenor expansion to take advantage of the included free character boost to level 90 on multiple characters. So instead of spending the $60 on an expansion and juggling multiple accounts, players can spend the same amount and use it on a toon on their existing account. At the same time, the team didn't want to diminish the hours and effort that players have invested in leveling nor create a world where no one levels. Hazzikostas explained, "If our goal here was to sell as many boosts as possible, we could halve the price or more than that -- make it $10 or something. And then hardly anyone would ever level a character again." Instead, the aim is to allow those who want a second or third alt but don't have time to level it because of other real-world commitments the chance to have it.
Breakfast Topic: What will you do with your level 90 boost?
While there's been plenty of discussion about whether level boosting is good or bad for the game, we do know that everyone will be getting a free boost to level 90 with Warlords of Draenor. For those of us actively playing the game now -- who already have at least one level 90 and perhaps several -- this raises the question of just what to do with our boost. Should we kick-start a new alt (like a hunter)? Jump into a different faction for a change of gaming perspective? Or maybe take advantage of this to hop to a server to play with friends away from our usual WoW realms. There are plenty of things we could do, but the question remains: when you pick up Warlords, what are you going to do with your level boost?
Next steps after boosting a paladin tank to 90
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 9 other people, obsessing over his hair, and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. With the introduction of level 90 boosts on the horizon, many players are going to be trying new characters, classes, and specs they may have never tried before. I expect this means that many folks are going to give protection paladins a go for the first time, which is a very exciting prospect, because the spec makes for a very fun tank playstyle. In order to help those new folks hit the ground running, I'm kicking off a two-part "quick start guide" that'll break down the spec in the 101-iest way possible, to give those new tankadins a barebones foundation that they can use to jump right into getting their faces pounded in. For today's post I'm going to talk about why one should choose to spend $60 or their free Warlords-given boost on a protection-specced paladin, and what they need to know to safely jump into that first dungeon.
Arcane Brilliance: Next steps for playing a fire mage at level 90
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. Congratulations! You've always wanted to play a mage alt but somehow never find the time, or perhaps you're considering a new main for Warlords of Draenor. Either way, you've decided to boost a mage to level 90 or re-spec your mage and you are faced with a decision. What spec would you like to play? We're going to talk eventually about all three excellent specs, but for now we're going to start with fire. Being a fire mage has always represented the somewhat reckless side of wizardry. Fire mages used to take talents that would increase their damage done in exchange for damage taken. (Nothing ventured, nothing gained!) Modern fire maging is a little less risky than that and comes with many advantages. You might enjoy playing a fire mage if you want:
Scattered Shots: 10 reasons to use your level 90 boost on a hunter
Every Thursday, WoW Insider brings you Scattered Shots for beast mastery, marksmanship and survival hunters. This week, your host Adam Koebel, aka Bendak will be discussing the reasons why you should be playing a hunter. As you may have heard, Warlords of Draenor will be available for pre-order soon, and with each purchase comes one free level 90 boost. Still wondering which class you should use your boost on? I'm here to make your decision a whole lot easier. Here are 10 reasons why you should use your level 90 boost on a hunter. 1. Feign death Hunters only die if we choose to die. Feign Death makes a hunter's repair bill is a mere fraction of what it would normally be. It's not just about repair bills though, it's about being able to avoid fighting things you don't want to fight. It's about avoiding corpse runs. And you would be surprised how often it fools people in PvP. Other classes are jealous of Feign Death, but they put up with it because we can mass resurrect to save them a corpse run. I put this at number one because it is, without a doubt, my favorite hunter ability. On second thought, it's probably tied with number three on the list. It's really hard to choose.
World of Warcraft instant level 90 boost price revealed at $60 US
There's a new addition to World of Warcraft's in-game shop today, and it happens to be the much-discussed boost that instantly takes a single character to level 90. The $60 US price tag, discovered by our sleuthy sister site WoW Insider, may come as good news or bad news to you, depending on your outlook. On the one hand, if you view the journey from 1 to 90 as a sacred rite of passage that should be held valuable, it appears that Blizzard values it at about the price of a brand-new video game. Not exactly chump change. On the other hand, if you were hoping to assemble a legion of 90s overnight, you're going to need some deep pockets. As WoW Insider notes, it's likely that the boost isn't intended to be available in the shop just yet since the Warlords of Draenor pre-order (which will grant the same instant-level-90 to those who purchase it) isn't available yet, and the WoW Insider staff member who discovered it only managed to do so between server restarts during today's maintenance. I suppose we'll find out whether or not it was intentional when the servers come back up later today. At any rate, there's no reason to think the price will be changed regardless of whether or not it's already available for purchase, so if you're in the market for some instant level 90 characters, start saving up now. [Thanks to WoW Insider for the image!]
Level 90 boost appears up on live servers for $60
While we were expecting that the level 90 boosts may appear sometime after the patch's launch, we weren't thinking that they would crop up today before the pre-orders even went out. And we certainly didn't think they would be priced at $60. It seems likely that this is not intended to be up yet, given that pre-orders are not live, so there is a possibility that this is a test number. A member of WoW Insider staff, Matthew Rossi, was able to log on and see this on his server, between restarts. Whether it will still be there when servers come back up later today remains to be seen. This is a far higher price point than many were expecting, but that can be viewed as a good thing or a bad one. A good thing because it puts the price on leveling at a point where the work that goes into a 90 still has value, a bad thing because it's expensive.
Weekly news roundup with Panser of TradeChat
Panser of TradeChat is back with this week's WoW Insider Weekly News Recap. We take a look at last week's most interesting news and tidbits of information including all of the new things found on the patch 5.4.7 PTR. Panser also has a clip showing the process of purchasing a level 90 boost in game. The full list of topics covered this week include: Level 90 character boost UI Timeless Isle weapons go to 489 ilvl PvP gear will be 550 ilvl New mount and pet videos New human female character model revealed Character models and their impact on system requirements And this week's discussion topic: Do we need a free re-customization for the new models? If you like the show, make sure to subscribe to TradeChat, leave comments, and tune in next week for a new episode!
Patch 5.4.7 PTR: Is this the level 90 boost gear?
Our friends over at Wowhead have datamined some gear from the patch 5.4.7 PTR. Included are full sets of ilvl483 armor, cloaks, jewelry, and weapons. The source of this gear hasn't been confirmed yet, but it seems like the perfect starter gear for a brand new level 90. It's sufficient to get you started in the first few LFRs or random PvP battlegrounds at least. You can view all of these new items at the links below: Cloth armor Leather armor Mail armor Plate armor Cloaks Jewelry Weapons Remember that this is datamined information and nothing has been confirmed. However, it does seem likely once you consider similar quality greens are given to boosted level 80 characters from the Scroll of Resurrection promotion. We'll be sure to keep you updated as the PTR progresses.
Patch 5.4.7 PTR: Level 90 character boost UI
The level 90 character boost, which is slated to arrive with patch 5.4.7, has appeared in limited form on the PTR. You can currently buy the boosts with test currency but the characters created are not yet playable and only show up as "processing" in the character select menu. Once you purchase a boost, a new button is added to the character select screen which lets you initiate the process. You can choose from an existing character or create a brand new one on the spot. If you're using a fresh character, it asks you what specialization you want to start with. It's as simple as that. As previously reported, there is mention of a veteran bonus for characters who are already level 60 or above. The veteran bonus grants you a boost to your two primary professions. Anyone who decides to pre-order the digital version of Warlords of Draenor when it becomes available will receive one of these character boosts for free. A pre-order is not required for the free boost, but pre-ordering will let you use your boost before Warlords launches. It seems likely that additional boosts will be sold in the Blizzard shop when this goes live, but there is no concrete information yet. Once we're able to test this functionality further we will be sure to provide more details such as starting gear and the extent of the veteran bonus.
Microtransactions: The good, the bad, and the ugly
News surfaced last week, thanks to the Blizzard Jobs Directory, that the company is seeking microtransaction specialists. While it's highly likely that these potential new recruits will not be set to work exclusively on Blizzard's only sub game, it seems only logical that they will examine the current offerings. As Sarah Pine mentioned, while WoW is currently running from a sub-based model, it will be interesting to see what the future holds. Over the weekend, I played a good number of hours of a game called Warframe. The movement was great, combat was fluid, it's one of the only games I've played lately that has that instantaneous feel you get from WoW. But the microtransaction and grinding methods that upgrades were behind were pretty sub-optimal. Yes, you could go into this largely PvE-based game and grind out the materials to get an upgrade. But the quantities required to achieve even a low-level upgrade seemed huge, let alone those required to unlock high-end ones, or other classes to play outside the basic three. And it's inspired me to think about WoW, and its transactions. What's bad, what's good, and where does WoW's current system fall in the grand scheme of microtransactions?
Level 90 boosting is not the end of the World of Warcraft
There seems to be a common misconception flying around in regards to Warlords of Draenor. Yes, you will be able to boost one character to level 90 upon purchase of the game -- in fact, as it was revealed yesterday, upon pre-order of the game. Yes, Blizzard will be offering this service as an optional purchase in the Blizzard store as well. But what people seem to be worried about is that this is a "pay-to-win" feature that is very quickly going to kill the game. Which is a really odd assessment to make. There is no real "winning" in World of Warcraft, unless you want to count sweeping a PvP season, or maybe being the first to complete all heroic modes of every raid in the current expansion. The thought of "winning the game" is an arbitrary, muddy label that doesn't actually apply to anything in Warcraft -- it's not a game designed with a finite endpoint or a finish line you can cross. Let's be clear, here -- level 90 boosts may not be for you. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be available, and it definitely doesn't mean they're going to kill the game.
What class will you boost to 90?
We've spoken a lot, lately, about the level 90 boosts coming with Warlords of Draenor. We've looked n detail at the reasons behind it, considered our opinions on the service, and wondered how much it should cost. The should they shouldn't they, will they won't they discussion has pretty much run its course -- the freebie 90 with Warlords is basically a fait accompli. The only question that remains is the pricing of the buy-a-90, and we've all said our piece. So let's move on to the fun side. You can't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind, wondering just exactly which class you'll boost to 90. I'm specifically thinking of the free 90 with the WoD expansion pack, if you're planning to use it. While you may well subsequently boost other classes, that's not what the poll's for. Tell me about that in the comments! Me? Well I'm torn. I sort of want to boost a monk, as I've tried to level a few, and find them really dull at low levels. But then on the US account I'm still missing a lot of classes, so it might be a hunter, or a mage. Depends how far I get before the expansion comes out. %Poll-86590%
Panser of TradeChat talks free level 90s
It's Tuesday, which means it's time for a new video from TradeChat's Panser. Because it's been a slow news week coming out of the holidays, this week's video is less of a news recap and more of a discussion, focusing on the controversial free boost to level 90 Blizzard will be handing out with Warlords of Draenor. Love it or hate it, it seems to be Blizzard's way of getting players into Warlords content as quickly as possible. We've heard that Blizzard has been sending out polls about what you'd be willing to pay for a level 90 character... and though we're not sure what Blizzard is planning to do with this information, they're clearly weighing their options. So what do you think of instant level 90s? Catch up on the issue and chat with Panser about it. Enjoyed the show? Be sure to subscribe to TradeChat to see more!
Breakfast Topic: How much would you pay for a boost to level 90?
There has been a bit of discussion around the web lately about a survey which apparently came from Blizzard asking about price points for the purchase of level 90 boosts. WoW Insider hasn't received a survey of that nature since the one that went out shortly after BlizzCon. And the ideas it raises about the idea of buying your way to level 90 are nothing new. Alex Ziebart both introduced the possibility and wrote an editorial about it just after BlizzCon; and what's more it came up in the fansite Q&A at BlizzCon itself. But while this is nothing new, the idea of price point hasn't really been addressed. That's what the survey was apparently asking, and it's certainly food for thought. Establishing price points for these sorts of things is tricky, especially in a subscription-based game such as World of Warcraft. In my opinion at least, Blizzard missed the mark with the transmog helms on the store, which were way too expensive at $15 a piece. So how do you go about establishing a price point for a level 90 boost?
The Queue: You're imagining things
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today. Let it be known: Sunday does not exist. You have imagined it for your entire life. Tom asked: I see people referring to time traveling in WoD. Are we time traveling? I thought Garrosh was the one doing that, and that we'll just be dealing with the present day of the new timeline.
Breakfast Topic: What character will you be boosting to level 90?
In case you were living under a rock for the past few days, one of the biggest announcements to come out of BlizzCon was that everyone who purchases Warlords of Draenor will be able to boost one character to level 90 instantly. There are no restrictions -- you can even use this on a fresh level 1 character. After taking a gander at the newly revamped character models, I am pretty settled on using my boost with a level 1 female dwarf warlock. The new model they showed looks great, and it's such a unique class/race combination that I can't even remember seeing one before. I've already reserved her name and she's sitting in Dun Morogh, patiently awaiting the expansion. Have you decided who you'll be boosting to level 90?
Why I don't hate Warlords of Draenor's level 90 boost
BlizzCon 2013 announced Warlords of Draenor and one of its highlighted features is the ability to instantly boost one of your characters to level 90 instantly. Though it is limited to one level 90 boost per Warlords of Draenor license, there is an interesting loophole, which I discussed in a previous post on this topic. To quote myself: If players want to boost an additional 90, there's nothing stopping them from purchasing a new World of Warcraft box, Warlords of Draenor license, and a character transfer to move additional, instant level 90s to their primary account. In an attempt to cut out the extraneous steps involved in that loophole, the Blizzard development team is considering simply allowing players to purchase extra boosts. Some like that idea. Some hate that idea. I'm one of those that does not hate it. I'd like to take a moment to explain why.
