“However, the ability to just flat-out buy levels is a new one to me in a big-brand subscription MMO. It perhaps matters more in WAR, because it is a game centered around competition with other players. When you create a perception that people can buy their way to power, you reduce how much people care about the result, and so you end up reducing the hunger for victory that keeps people playing games such as this.”
Quote of the Day
Bio Break 
Buying your way to 40 (1 level only mind you) does not really give any power. If it was a Renown Rank I’d be in agreement, but this is just an exp level. Does not really help with the 100 renown ranks.
It’s a single PvE rank for each character across your account, you can’t buy multiples, and this sort of thing already exists in game as a reward for completing chapter 3 influence. It does not grant a renown level which is really the meat of the leveling structure.
As Werit notes
“Buying your way to 40 (1 level only mind you) does not really give any power. If it was a Renown Rank I’d be in agreement…”
Then lets hope the 1.4 patch notes stating “The Progression Pack gives players an opportunity to advance through the Renown Ranks faster” is not a “pay for” release.
Sounds to me like power leveling RR’s for a fee is even more of a concern than a 1 level up WAR tract.
@openedge That is a different issue, one which I am not really sold on how Mythic is going about it. I’d much rather see the bonus applied to all players rather than just those who buy the pack.
IIRC, the Renown curve was being adjusted to accommodate the new 1-100 grind since the exponential increases all the way to RR80 would make RR100 something ridiculous to attain. I would also like to see that statement cleared up, although pretty much anyone with a RR80 toon is going to be buying that portion of the pack anyway.
I do not think the word “Power” itself is the correct term to be used for this instance but however you cut it you are buying a level. Of course that may not matter much for high RR players but to the general health of the game I believe it does and not in a good way.
At least with the chapter 3 influence quest reward is part of the over all story of WAR it’s even good as a guild event but the buying of this Tract does nothing for the story of WAR or at least whats left of it.
I wonder does the chapter 3 and this “bought” Tract stack?
You’re paying money to become stronger in PvP, period. I think there’s a fundamental flaw with that in an environment where the only thing that matters is healthy player competition and the spirit of combat. Its not something to ragequit over, but I’m worried that we’re declining down a fast slippery slope of micro-transactions for in game rewards that are no longer just sparkly ponies.
I get that RRs are more meaningful; however, no matter which way you cut it, levels boost your stats. Ergo, you’re buying power.
I’ve heard a few people mention that you can only buy one of these. It doesn’t say that on the product page or the announcement. Can anyone point me towards a source with that detail? Going by what’s most readily available, you can spend $390 and have a max level character of every single class.
I’d assert that WAR has a far more fundamental problem when it comes to PvP gaming. They really don’t need levels, for sale or not. They need to have normalized PvP based on player skill, not avatar grinding. As such, I really can’t get worked up over a way to shorttrack a feature that I think is broken in the first place. If anything, getting everyone to the level cap faster is a Good Thing, as that has all avatars at the same relative power levels. (Class balance aside, of course.)
@chris In the FAQ, it says only 1 item per account, except for the server transfers.
@rer If that’s the case, then it’s been there since Day 1. If you ordered the CE, you got +10% XP consumables.
Thanks for clearing that up, Werit. Hopefully they update their product page soon since a prominently displayed “one time only” limitation would probably help ease players minds.