#0 - Sept. 29, 2010, 10:28 p.m.
Long story short, my roommate is in a very progressed guild, and last night he told me that his guild sold the Invincible mount off of Heroic Lich King for 1500 US Dollars. Now, if my memory of the ToS serves me, trading in game items for real currency is a breach of the contract we all signed when we install and patch the game. What's more, he claims the person he sold the mount to has "connections" and is going to buy all the raiding members of that guild a copy of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, before it is available to the general public, thus giving them a huge advantage over other people on the server and other competitive guilds.
When I jokingly told my roommate he should watch out because I was going to open a ticket and a lowly casual could bring down the mighty <Not Posting the Name> guild, both he and his girlfriend replied by pointing out all the various "loopholes" the sale could be hidden using and with the statement that "Blizzard doesn't care. Look how easy they've made everything, pretty much anyone can get everything now". They then followed this by pointing out that the current Cataclysm Beta on my roommate's computer was obtained by giving specific people (or person) Kingslayer titles and some of the high end loot from raid bosses.
When I look at this sort of thing, it makes me wonder if the people who created this awesome game still have the same integrity they did years ago. I have been playing since release, and yes, I've seen a lot of this and that and drama and exploits and all that smoke. However, for the most part I believed that Blizzard has done a good job of maintaining and policing "dirty" activities like this. Then I move in to this house and I see someone in a top guild who has traded in game things for Beta Keys, money, and what seems to me to be special treatment?
Is there a double standard? Is being in a top guild all it takes to be above the law? Is this guild going to be held accountable for the Invincible sale? Based on the current track record from the room across the hall, it doesn't look like it. How many other people have done something like this and gotten away with it? Why are some people allowed to toy with the rules at their leisure? I've seen the way this guild treats other people--like dirt. Why are they being allowed to treat the rules, and what I believe to be the spirit of the game, the same way?
The question I pose is this: Do you guys still care? I know you're dedicated to making a great gaming experience for everyone, but making cool stuff for us to do is only half the battle.
I suppose that is all I came here to say. If one of the Customer Service blues does read this, I ask that you pass it on to the appropriate parties. I'm sure you have a way to contact me if you need to. Thank you for your time.
