I was in an LFR yesterday and someone that has purchased the new blizzard helm apparently earned the anger of the gaming community and out of nowhere a pop up came up to kick them. A few people said in raid to kick the tard with the blizzard hat and then raid chat went into a rant against blizzard. So when the pop up came the person was gone instantly.
I never even had the chance to consider if I would kick the person. Everyone else there made the decision for me. The person with the helm was gone so fast my head was spinning just thinking about it.
This morning I logged on to see that this is becoming a habit in the LFR. On the UK forums there is a thread about someone getting kicked for wearing it and other people making posts about being kicked or abused because of wearing it.
I am kind of torn on this type of action. If you read here you know my stand on it and that I believe that 15 dollars is more than a little too high for such an item and that anywhere from 1-5 dollars would have been more reasonable. But to kick someone from random content over it. That is going a bit to far. That is worse than blizzard over pricing a helm if you ask me.
I never got the chance to make my vote, so to speak. I never got the chance to say, yes kick the person that wasted their own money or no, it does not effect me in any way so lets just slay some internet dragons.
I do believe that I would have said no. Actually believe is the wrong word. I absolutely would not have kicked someone for wearing the helm. It was their money and they wasted it (in my opinion) because they wanted to waste it. Maybe to them it is not as waste. Just like someone can say to me that buying a mount was a waste of my money. I don't think so. We all have our own opinions and there is nothing wrong with that and as such I would never in a million years kick someone for buying the helm.
I might not agree with them buying it and I would rather they did not. I do believe that if no one bought it then they would lower the prices to a more reasonable number. Perhaps these people that are doing the kicks might actually be sending that same message without even knowing it. They are showing their displeasure of the pricing by kicking the people that purchased it.
I do wonder what their motivations are. Are they doing it to send a message to blizzard that they are going to protest the pricing my making the people that bought it pay the price through being kicked? Are they doing it because their are jealous that someone out there has more expendable cash than they do? Are they just trolling people that purchased it by kicking them by effectively making fun of them through kicking them?
No matter their motivations I have to say I am against the concept of kicking someone for buying something I do not like. I might not like it, I might think it is over priced and I might have very strong opinions about it being in the shop. However that does not mean I have the right to judge someone else for buying it. All I can do is say what I said in my other post about it. Stress to people that not buying it will send a stronger message to blizzard than kicking people who did buy it ever will.
Do you think it sends a message to blizzard when these people that bought the helm get kicked from the LFR and other group content?
Would you click yes or no when that pop up appears for you?
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ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what people will kick over.
DeleteWell this is ironic, considering I've heard anecdotes of people being kicked for NOT having heirlooms.
ReplyDeleteIt's all ridiculous.
I mean if this were Survivor the Transmog edition we could talk but yeah... no.
You know, that sounds like it would be a fun server event. Transmog survivor edition. Someone will do it sooner or later, I am sure.
DeleteI joined in a transmog event once and actually won 5K.
I've heard of the kicked for no heirlooms before too. That is so stupid. What if someone is new, or on an alt server.
And by kicked for not having heirlooms, I obviously mean from leveling LFD.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one of my guildies got the crown of eternal winter the night it was put in the store [our LFR night] and he had no problems that I'm aware of. So hopefully this is a small segment of people.
I've heard that happening before. I was in one where someone asked someone about not having heirlooms and they answered something alone the lines of "I only started playing last month" and got kicked. I dropped group. I thought it was the rudest thing I ever saw in a random.
DeleteI am pretty sure it is a very tiny portion of the player base that would do something like that.
While I might not initiate the vote, though a hat would certainly lower the threshold to do so, I would say “yes” if a vote to kick someone for the hat came up. Why? I don't like the Blizzard store. I don't like anything in the store, nor do I like the business practice that purchases made there encourage. Blizzard may not care about my opinion or displeasure, but I can certainly make my displeasure known to others. If voting to kick someone makes it less likely for others to make purchases from the Blizzard store, then so much the better.
ReplyDeleteDoes this make me a jerk? Of course is does. There is no logical reason for it. I don’t hate the person per say, it’s nothing personal, I just hate the store. And if my only recourse is to shoot the messenger because he is wearing a stupid hat…so be it.
That is what I saw saying when I said, if people are sending a message in a sort of way, to stop people from buying things.
DeleteWill blizzard get the message? Will people stop buying? I would say no to both. If anything blizzard would end up banning the people that kick over it if anything. That would be my guess.
I am sure there are a few that feel exactly like you.
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DeleteI also had expectations that blizzard would not try to rip off people with cosmetic items so over priced.
DeleteI do not agree with what he is doing at all but even if he calls himself a jerk about it I don't think I would say he was.
If someone feels strongly about something, even if I disagree with it, it is how they feel. While I might not agree with kicking someone I understand why some people would.
I think it will send a message, but at the same time, I think it's incredibly childish. What a lot of WoW players have forgotten is that WoW is a game, and games are supposed to be fun, and that not everyone plays the game as seriously as they do. They're penalising someone for playing the game the way they want to in such a minor way. People go around ganking lower levels because that's how they want to play the game. It's retarded but no one stops them, and that affects a lot of people (namely the people they're ganking). Purchasing a £10 helm - which is incredibly overpriced - doesn't affect us at all.
ReplyDeleteApparently Blizz are in debt (who isn't these days?) and if overpricing on useless items is how they plan to get out of it, then let them. I'd rather than than they double subscription cost, and I'd also rather that they didn't end up having to sell the company to pay it off.
I don't know. I would never have kicked someone. I'd have privately thought they wasted their money, for like a second, and then just carried on playing my game.
But what people do have to remember is, if they're worried they'll be kicked for wearing it, just don't wear it in a situation where you're kickable. Un'mogg it. I mean, no, they shouldn't HAVE to, but if that's the way it's going then that's just what they have to do.
It is sad that you would even have to suggest that they just not wear it in situations like that because, as you mentioned, they should not have to change it.
DeleteTo date I have only heard of 4 other kicks likes that. So I don't think it is really wide spread.
You nailed it however when you said it "doesn't effect us as all" and that is what it really comes down to.
When I saw this post I went and checked out the thread you mentioned. I don't understand this at all. I vaguely remember some people being up in arms about the mounts when they first came out. The argument being that this is a sub game. So if things are being sold separately from the sub then they've been taken away from what they should have had. I'm not kidding I read this exact argument on that forum thread.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the mounts were more readily accepted because of the TCG mounts, so there was already precedent, or what. That being said these are vanity options. They don't impact gameplay at all.
Yes they are overpriced in my opinion. I say the same about a lot of the costumes in Marvel Heroes. The rebuttal is that they are vanity items, they can charge whatever for those as it's peoples choice whether they buy them. I think because they are vanity items they should be cheaper as they are worth less, but I can see the point that as no-one needs them then it doesn't hurt anyone for them to be out of reach for some.
I mean if someone bought the helm they made the choice to spend their money. As it's just a vanity item aside from it being seen on your screen, it has no impact on you whatsoever. One of the other arguments in the thread was that "we have to make a stand" because this is the start of a slippery slope. As it's a pure vanity item I don't see the difference between it and mounts, in fact I think mounts have far more of a gameplay impact (or at least they did when they were first introduced before account wide mounts were a thing). Abusing someone, ruining their game time, is horrible and doesn't solve anything. You can disagree with the choice they made, but as it doesn't hurt you then what does it matter?
However, even if it did have an impact. Say they introduced 480 ilevel gear as a catch up for alts, a set that could be bought in store. Even if they did this kicking the person that bought it would be wrong. Yes I see the argument that if you punish those that have supported blizz in this, then less people will support them, and then blizz will have to acknowledge it was wrong but really? Just no. Complain to blizz direct, don't go after someone that used a legitimate service.
Complaining to the devs can help. In Marvel Heroes it's easy to see a causal link between changes being made, and feedback threads. They actually reference it in patch notes. That's a different, smaller game, but the same principle still applies. Plus this is the right way to do something, not the easy way, not going after some idiot with more money than sense.
If I had been you Grumpy I don't think I would have been able to keep my mouth shut. I would have said something scathing about their action and dropped group. I hate injustice.
I do believe, as they said in the thread, that this really is the start of a slippery slope. More then a start, we already started slipping. You are right however, as the mounts in a small way did actually effect game play whereas this does not at all.
DeleteOddly enough, I stayed to watch the conversation if nothing else. When it first happened my original thought was, this will be in interesting post.
People in general have the shoot the messenger mentality. And I can see there will always be a few that are like that. People also are different and have the fun in many different way like the person mentioned above, by ganking lowbies maybe. So some will surely enjoy the concept of making the life hell on those that bought the helm and will defend it by saying, it is might right to play with who I want to play with and I do not want to play with them. If I start a kick and it goes through enough people agree with me. While in a strange way I agree with that comment the bad point is, no matter the reason if a kick goes up most people usually say yes without thinking.
Anon, Grumpy's former Guild Leader:
ReplyDeleteYou already know I would not have voted to kick but I will say it anyway. I never would have voted to kick. It is the wrong way to go about protesting the store. The Blizzard forums, troll ridden though they are, are the proper place to express displeasure.
Yes, the results of protesting a decision on the forum is not as effective as those with the problem would like but it does have some influence. And it is certainly better than ruining the night for someone who has made a decision different from what I may like.
I agree but I also think for many they have all too often went to the forums and got ignored, or if they where answered given the blow off with some text book cut and paste answer.
DeletePeople do not believe in blizzard to listen to them and that actually is a part of the problem. If people felt like they could do something against blizzard to make them change their might they might but they know it won't happen so they go the kill the messenger route instead. Not saying it is right, but that is partly what I believe it to be.
I've hardly been in game recently so I haven't seen anyone with one of the helms.
ReplyDeleteThey did mention a case like this on Legendary the other day; probably talking about the forum post. Hopefully, it dies off before it becomes the new "thing to do" in LFR.
I boycott Apple products but I still have friends who buy their stuff. I may on occasion try to enlighten them of their foolish ways :D, but I wouldn't "kick" them from my group of friends just for buying Apple stuff. I expect most people would be the same way for equivalent things in real life or in game.
However, this is like kicking someone because you hate the Klaxxi and that person is sporting the Klaxxi title 'the Wakener'. It's just absurd.
Another example of how Blizzard needs to encourage better community.
In general, people re strange and as such they often act in strange ways. Perhaps to some this seems like no big deal, kicking people for a hat.
DeleteOne person in my guild purchased one. As foolish as I think they are I would not kick him for it. I even asked to see it.
The reason many casual players are going to buy something like these helms out of the vanity store is in the hopes of gaining positive social reaction.
ReplyDelete"Wow! Your hat looks so cool!"
Blizzard will make stuff like the helms so long as people pay for them. If you wanted to discourage placing items behind a paywall the best way an average player has of doing that is either cancelling their subscription or disincentivizing the purchase of items. Turn positive social reaction into negative. Instead of praising people for their helm, isolate them. Make those that have bought them take them off. Make others less likely to buy these and other items in the future.
I wouldn't have kicked somebody for wearing one. I'm not happy about Blizzard selling new art assets, but I'm not going to get in a huff over it either. However, the reaction of some people to punish those they would call "collaborators" is both logical and foreseeable. I also don't think it will last long. A few weeks and not enough people will care for a LFR/LFD group to kick somebody for wearing them.
It seems like that is exactly what they are trying to do. Make people regret buying them and hope that them doing that will keep others from buying one again.
DeleteWhile I have bought mounts and pets I did not and will not buy the helms. For various reasons like the price and the fact I do not get into the transmog thing but and they are quite ugly. But that is how people should speak. By not buying.
I guess some are hoping they can make more people "on the edge" on if they are going to buy make the choice not to because they will see how the people that bought it got treated.
I think it will blow over quickly as well. In a matter of weeks no one will even notice people are wearing it.