WTS: 5v5, decent rating, misspelled name
Since the inception of the arena system in WoW, players have been very creative in finding ways to boost their ratings. First it was a matter of highly-ranked teams selling slots to less skilled players. Lately the subject of trading wins and losses has been the buzz. Blizzard has taken the steps that they feel necessary, such as instituting the personal rating system, to combat the issue.
In a thread entitled "Selling arena teams ok/not ok?" Legolawls reiterated the subject of team leaders selling off points, and blue posts condoned the behavior. That player feels that selling violates the spirit of the game. This elicited a responses from both Crepe and Turtle (via Auryk) saying that there are currently no rules preventing the sale of an Arena team. Interestingly they even hinted that entire team sales are acceptable. As long as the transaction occurs only in-game it is considered to be a legitimate service. Team captains are free to sell slots or even their entire teams as they see fit. If the team were being sold outside of game, for a real cash sum, the matter would be different.
This means that five seasoned players can pony up the 200 gold to start up a team at a 1500 rating. Then they spend a few weeks working it up, sell it off for a tidy profit, and start over again. This means that players who are skilled and geared enough to be in the top brackets are regularly dropping themselves back to pairings with players who lack the resources to put up a fight. While winning and making gold are fun, it sounds even more tedious than dailies to me- not to mention frustrating for those of us who get rolled by those who significantly outgear us.
This also means easy games for true top ranked teams. They would be matched up with teams of equal rating but lesser skill, which would then inflate their ratings. True, the rating of the purchased team will drop, but if they play only 10 games a week, they'd still have a few weeks to bank inflated arena points.
Apparently, even with the recent changes, arena points are still for sale. I think it would annoy me most if my team leader sold a team out from under me. So what is that Vengeful Gladiator's Waraxe worth to you?
