Something went wrong. Try again later

Giant Bomb News

149 Comments

Blizzard Unveils its Nefarious Plan to Make You Play World of Warcraft Again

The new Scroll of Resurrection offers up a sizable pile of perks for those who might want to dip back into the world of Azeroth.

I've abandoned my level 36 Dwarf rogue!
I've abandoned my level 36 Dwarf rogue!

You may have heard about World of Warcraft's recent drop in subscribers. Once known as the world's most ubiquitous massively multiplayer online role-playing game (hell, it still pretty much is), the game has lost a decent number of players in the last fiscal year or so, though there are still something like 10 million of them currently active.

Unsurprisingly, Blizzard is not interested in having players leave WoW. Instead, the publisher is exclusively interested in making those players who have dropped out come back. And they're removing quite a few barriers to entry in order to make it happen.

Today the publisher announced the new Scroll of Resurrection, a deeply nefarious device existing players can unleash on so-called "friends" who have abandoned the battle for Azeroth like Daniel Plainview abandoned his child. Should the wayward player happen to accept the aforementioned scroll, they'll be able to jump back into the game with the following perks:

  • A single character immediately boosted all the way to level 80
  • A FREE upgrade to Cataclysm (which means that someone who hasn’t played since the original release would receive all of the game’s additional content for free, including the Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm expansions.)
  • An optional FREE character move and faction change (specifically to the inviter’s realm and faction.)
  • 7 FREE days of game time, available immediately

    That's all well and good for the former turncoat who saw the error of their ways and came crawling back because they got a bunch of free stuff, but what of the loyal player who sent the scroll? What reward awaits them for their distribution of email fliers to their former guildmates? They will be getting free mounts. Provided the newly scrolled friend renews and pays for at least 30 days of play, Alliance players will receive a free Spectral Gryphon, while Horde characters get a free Spectral Wind Rider.

    All of this does, of course, hinge on former players having friends who still play World of Warcraft. Blizzard isn't just sending these things out all willy-nilly. Also, this is a limited time offer, so if you are planning on sending out a scroll, head over on to Blizzard's official page for this whole promotion and get crackin'.

  • Alex Navarro on Google+

    149 Comments

    Avatar image for fuchikoma
    fuchikoma

    49

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 6

    Edited By fuchikoma

    That's pretty extreme. As someone who played vanilla WoW up to around level 21 or so, this would be a huge boost... into a game that wore out its welcome in a matter of weeks. It wasn't my first MMO so I just don't have the nostalgia for it.

    Actually, I loved Ragnarok, my first MMO, and it went free to play but I still haven't come back. I've just had my fill of MMOs.

    Avatar image for gabril
    gabril

    10

    Forum Posts

    4

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By gabril

    After playing for 3 and a half years, I finally decided to jump ship last year. Stupid stuff like this reassures me of my decision.

    Avatar image for johnzimmerman
    johnzimmerman

    251

    Forum Posts

    70

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 10

    Edited By johnzimmerman

    i can't

    Avatar image for 1337w422102
    1337W422102

    1334

    Forum Posts

    2012

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 3

    User Lists: 2

    Edited By 1337W422102

    >paying to play a game online
    Oh man, that is rich.

    Avatar image for mostlybearded
    MostlyBearded

    193

    Forum Posts

    9

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By MostlyBearded

    @ballsnbayonets said:

    alex always write the best articles with the best titles yo.

    Word.

    Avatar image for rekt_hed
    Rekt_Hed

    958

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 6

    User Lists: 8

    Edited By Rekt_Hed

    So glad I never got into wow. Having someone boost to level 80 just for a invite....man that is just dirty

    Avatar image for kyle
    Kyle

    2383

    Forum Posts

    6307

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 12

    Edited By Kyle

    So.... shiny.... It's beautiful... No! No, I mustn't! T'would not be wise... But then again.......

    Avatar image for munmon
    munmon

    16

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By munmon

    No no no no no no. Never again.

    Avatar image for seriouslynow
    SeriouslyNow

    8504

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Edited By SeriouslyNow
    @Branthog said:

    Yeah, good luck with that, Blizzard. I reached level 36 or 38 with my healer around a month after WoW was released and then canceled my subscription in the first week of January, 2005.

    Yep, you're the industry's weathervane.
    Avatar image for ballsnbayonets
    ballsnbayonets

    163

    Forum Posts

    10

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Edited By ballsnbayonets

    alex always write the best articles with the best titles yo.

    Avatar image for bmuzyn
    BMUZYN

    13

    Forum Posts

    3

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By BMUZYN

    I'm 5 years clean off of WoW and don't plan on wasting anymore of my life on a game that only wants you to do just that. I capped 4 classes on the first expansion and had most of the tier 5 gear for all but my Shaman. What a waste of my time! WoW is the biggest regret of my life.

    Avatar image for smilingpig
    SmilingPig

    1370

    Forum Posts

    5

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By SmilingPig

    My girlfriend's account and my own gat pirated last year (even though we were not playing and had no game time in the game), the hoops they want us to jump true to get them back are way to annoying too actually do.

    So WoW is dead to us.

    Avatar image for gamefreak9
    gamefreak9

    2877

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    Edited By gamefreak9

    @CommissarDuke said:

    I've played this game and found it boring, but I always wonder what is going to happen when this game finally shuts down. What will happen to the players that have invested so much time and work to get all that gear, only to have it gone in an instant when the life cycle of the game finally passes. Would Blizzard have some sort of promotion to help ease their biggest fans into their next MMO?

    your gear becomes obsolete every expansion anyway.

    Avatar image for dvorak
    dvorak

    1553

    Forum Posts

    616

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By dvorak

    I'm so fucking burned out on SWTOR and I haven't played it since January. I played way too much of it, hit max level and did a ton of PVP. It was amazing but I had my fill.

    The new WOW expansion should be coming out right around the time that I'm willing to get back into an MMO, so I'm looking forward to this.

    Avatar image for dukest3
    DukesT3

    2114

    Forum Posts

    773

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    Edited By DukesT3

    The only thing that got me back in was my friend JUST started playing in January. So I got back in, did some questing and it was fun. Now I'm done.

    Avatar image for big_weasel
    BiG_Weasel

    566

    Forum Posts

    33

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 8

    Edited By BiG_Weasel

    Come back for what? Same old hamster-on-a-wheel gear grind? Raiding for a 1% epic drop so I can do the next dungeon in the sequence? Paying $15/month for pallet-swapped mobs/gear/bosses? No thanks. I'll be over here in Guild Wars 2, where things are decidedly different (and free to play).

    Avatar image for deactivated-6418ef3727cdd
    deactivated-6418ef3727cdd

    2721

    Forum Posts

    697

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 4

    Guild Wars 2 is where it's at, brah.

    Avatar image for selbie
    selbie

    2602

    Forum Posts

    6468

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By selbie

    Blizzard has already made its money back on this game. They're just milking this cash cow for every last drop.

    Make a good MMO that will take me away from Guild Wars 2 among others and I might consider returning to Blizzard MMOs.

    Avatar image for stahlbrand
    Stahlbrand

    905

    Forum Posts

    24

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 9

    Edited By Stahlbrand

    Sees TWBB image, checks byline. Yup, that makes sense. Continue on Navarro.

    Avatar image for gruff182
    Gruff182

    1065

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Gruff182

    If anyone EU wants one, just PM me.

    Leveling is not fun.

    Avatar image for jakob187
    jakob187

    22972

    Forum Posts

    10045

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 8

    User Lists: 9

    Edited By jakob187

    @Demoskinos said:

    What in the HELL is the point of getting a lvl 80 out of the gate? Isn't half the fun the journey to the top? I mean....fuck. =\

    Moreover, giving someone a level 80 toon right out of the gate is more problematic than that. I haven't played since Lich King (I played Cata for about three days, so I'm not counting that), so coming into all the new shit in the game (dual-specs, PvP and PvE content, the whole new way that Azeroth is designed, etc etc) will be confusing as shit. Worse than that, I'm going to have all these abilities that have had nerfs and buffs, no gear to go into stuff with, and I'll STILL have to grind through the high level Cata content...which is not very good (hence why I played for three days and quit).

    Beyond that, they want people to actually cough up $15 for 30 days...when you can easily take down all the raids in the course of 7 days and be done with it.

    Avatar image for y2ken
    Y2Ken

    3308

    Forum Posts

    82

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 28

    Edited By Y2Ken

    Wow. (Not really any pun intended, honest.)

    This is actually a pretty impressive hook. WoW's never been my game though, so I don't think I'd qualify for this even if I was interested in playing. I'll pass.

    Avatar image for insane_shadowblade85
    insane_shadowblade85

    1710

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    @Superfriend said:

    More like Scroll of Desperation, am I right?

    Honestly, these MMO devs seem like crazy stalker ex-girlfriends who just can´t seem to quit. Or maybe like some religious cult that can´t stop fucking harassing those who left it. What´s next? Fake emails from ingame characters, expressing how they "miss" you? No, that would be insane.

    I received an email from Star Trek Online that basically told me that Star Fleet found out that I was on a really long shore leave and wants me back. Star Fleet snitched on me to the devs!

    Avatar image for branthog
    Branthog

    5777

    Forum Posts

    1014

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Branthog

    Yeah, good luck with that, Blizzard. I reached level 36 or 38 with my healer around a month after WoW was released and then canceled my subscription in the first week of January, 2005.

    Avatar image for katsu044
    katsu044

    309

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By katsu044

    for now i shall stay away still and wait for the pandas because the way that's looking its turning out to be a new game...somewhat back to swtor~

    Avatar image for porkellain
    Porkellain

    267

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Porkellain

    @SilenceUK: yep, it has been my mistake. still, i miss the guys and i'm planning to come back, with an "easier" approach. what i meant is that i don't really need the scroll to come back, just the folks that i met there.

    Avatar image for procyon27
    Procyon27

    41

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Procyon27

    The level cap is 85 now not 80. They aren't giving you a free pass to end game. They are giving you a free pass until Cata. This is meant to be directed at those players....like myself...who have played a ton of WOW over the years, but have given it up out of boredom or loss of interest. I played a ton of end game content in Wrath and quite enjoyed myself. Then real life bites you in the ass...I got an XBOX...and just lost interest in WOW. I stopped raiding and cancelled my sub a few months after that. I did eventually get Cata, but quickly lost interest. WOW just doesn't have the draw for me like it did a few years ago when I played it all the time.

    This scroll is not meant for new players...players that have never played WOW before. This is to entice former players....preferably hardcore players...into coming back and giving it a go again with one of their alts they never wanted to level up because the thought of grinding 85 levels for the 5th or 6th time was a mind numbing proposition. I think that is the point you guys are missing. To say "ZOMG!!11!! Blizz is really desperate if they are giving end game away for free!!11 LOLZORZ!!111!!" is just slightly naive and greatly misinformed. They know they are losing subs and they know that getting new players into WOW is probably not going to happen. So, trying to get old players to come back is a very smart and viable strategy to boost sub numbers.

    Blizz really needs to rethink the sub fee. It either needs to be reduced significantly or removed completely if they want WOW to continue to thrive. There are too many other options that cost next to nothing competing with them for a share of the gaming/MMO market.

    Avatar image for silenceuk
    SilenceUK

    386

    Forum Posts

    7

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Edited By SilenceUK

    @Porkellain said:

    I quit WoW last July, not because I hated it but because it almost sucked my life, could not pass any exams because I was always right in front of my laptop raiding and managing a 200 people guild. Never thought about it but now, strangely, I miss it. I miss my guildies, I miss the good times we had together and I miss the international, wacky, fucked up company I founded. I recently discovered that all my 10 toons have been deleted, but still, now that I stabilized my life again I want to come back, maybe with a less hardcore approach. I won't use the scroll of resurrection because fuck it, I just want to meet my friends again.

    not the games fault thats a personal flaw..... just my opinion but if it wasnt wow you would have become addicted to something else its obviously in you nature but kudos for giving it up

    Avatar image for xymox
    xymox

    2422

    Forum Posts

    2520

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 7

    User Lists: 8

    Edited By xymox

    "You may have heard about World of Warcraft's recent drop in subscribers."

    No, I haven't, actually. Perhaps if someone was to make a website dedicated to video games, I could find out.

    Avatar image for nyhus
    Nyhus

    140

    Forum Posts

    8

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Nyhus

    I didnt read who wrote this article. Then i saw the smart, little There Will Be Blood-reference, and i just knew who the brain behind the writing was. Awesome.

    Avatar image for alkusanagi
    AlKusanagi

    1667

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 4

    Edited By AlKusanagi

    Pandas and Pokemon will never drag me back. I've got lightsabers and space racists now!

    Avatar image for norusdog
    Norusdog

    356

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Edited By Norusdog

    I'll never go back. Cata killed that game for me. Only way I'd consider going back to WoW is if it got a significant engine/graphical upgrade AND a decent expansion.

    Avatar image for penguindust
    penguindust

    13129

    Forum Posts

    22

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 3

    Edited By penguindust

    It's not for me, but even if I was interested in getting back into WOW, I don't know anyone who still plays so I can't reap the rewards of this deal. If WOW wants to woo back gamers who've dropped the habit, then they need to make it feasible for those who don't know anyone still hooked on the game. Anyone who resurrects their old account should get all that stuff. Then they might lure more retired-players back into their van...I mean game.

    Avatar image for bemusedchunk
    bemusedchunk

    912

    Forum Posts

    1

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 4

    Edited By bemusedchunk

    Anyone wants/needs a scroll, just pm me with your email address.

    I'll hook you up - no prob.

    Avatar image for purplepartyrobot
    PurplePartyRobot

    440

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By PurplePartyRobot

    I've played this game and found it boring, but I always wonder what is going to happen when this game finally shuts down. What will happen to the players that have invested so much time and work to get all that gear, only to have it gone in an instant when the life cycle of the game finally passes. Would Blizzard have some sort of promotion to help ease their biggest fans into their next MMO?

    Avatar image for porkellain
    Porkellain

    267

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Porkellain

    I quit WoW last July, not because I hated it but because it almost sucked my life, could not pass any exams because I was always right in front of my laptop raiding and managing a 200 people guild. Never thought about it but now, strangely, I miss it. I miss my guildies, I miss the good times we had together and I miss the international, wacky, fucked up company I founded. I recently discovered that all my 10 toons have been deleted, but still, now that I stabilized my life again I want to come back, maybe with a less hardcore approach. I won't use the scroll of resurrection because fuck it, I just want to meet my friends again.

    Avatar image for superfriend
    superfriend

    1786

    Forum Posts

    10

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By superfriend

    More like Scroll of Desperation, am I right?

    Honestly, these MMO devs seem like crazy stalker ex-girlfriends who just can´t seem to quit. Or maybe like some religious cult that can´t stop fucking harassing those who left it. What´s next? Fake emails from ingame characters, expressing how they "miss" you? No, that would be insane.

    Avatar image for osiris
    Osiris

    701

    Forum Posts

    227

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 4

    User Lists: 2

    Edited By Osiris

    Hehe, desperate Blizzard. No thanks though.

    Avatar image for lancereagle
    lancereagle

    36

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By lancereagle

    Crap! I just jumped back in after a year of downtime.

    Avatar image for xpgamer7
    xpgamer7

    2488

    Forum Posts

    148

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 12

    User Lists: 5

    Edited By xpgamer7

    That's...Insane...

    Avatar image for myslead
    myslead

    953

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 3

    Edited By myslead

    I don't think it's them saying that the content is not worth playing.

    but it's them ackowledging that everyone played through it already and nobody wants to re-level a level 1 Druid to 85 after leveling 3 toons to 85 already.

    Avatar image for jimmypancakes
    JimmyPancakes

    122

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Edited By JimmyPancakes

    @TheKbob said:

    That's why I come to Giantbomb... for the vague "There Will Be Blood" references.

    Good show, Alex.

    Absolutely

    Avatar image for dragonaut
    dragonaut

    7

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By dragonaut

    I've been addicted to countless other MMOs from FFXI to freaking MapleStory yet I have never been able to stay interested in WoW for more than a couple days of free trial, even with friends :X

    Avatar image for hrn212
    hrn212

    39

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By hrn212

    @Benny said:

    Removing the level grind is madness to me. It's basically them admitting it's not worth playing through it.

    Yeah this is what gets me too. The rest is all promoting the game and saying, hey come play. But this just seems to be saying that the only reason to play is endgame stuff. What the heck happened to the whole Cataclysm-has-great-new-levelling?

    Avatar image for deactivated-58f9a027d9bbc
    deactivated-58f9a027d9bbc

    379

    Forum Posts

    121

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 1

    if this happen at an earlier point in my life, maybe I'll get back to it

    somehow I just lose all the passion for raiding boss, farming gold and getting the "ult gears" that is going to become "not that ult gear" after like a month or three

    Avatar image for mastertom
    MasterTom

    84

    Forum Posts

    80

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 2

    Edited By MasterTom

    @Doppelgamer: totally agree with ya...

    playing no MMO is indeed liberating in some weird way... tho I def. loved my WoW experience.

    Avatar image for thelyfe
    Thelyfe

    24

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By Thelyfe

    Haven't played since 2006. I might try this out.

    Avatar image for xbob42
    xbob42

    927

    Forum Posts

    4

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By xbob42

    @Demoskinos said:

    What in the HELL is the point of getting a lvl 80 out of the gate? Isn't half the fun the journey to the top? I mean....fuck. =\

    Unfortunately, this is not the case in WoW. WoW's level grind is boring, repetitive and very unfun, especially after you've leveled a character already. That's one of its crippling design flaws -- everything is centered around end-game.

    Avatar image for deactivated-5e60061752a57
    deactivated-5e60061752a57

    752

    Forum Posts

    96

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Nah.

    Avatar image for maddprodigy
    MaddProdigy

    1074

    Forum Posts

    178

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By MaddProdigy

    @Demoskinos said:

    What in the HELL is the point of getting a lvl 80 out of the gate? Isn't half the fun the journey to the top? I mean....fuck. =\

    Definitely not. Most of the people in top raiding guilds have fully leveled a dozen or more characters. The real fun of WOW is in using them daily in a variety of raids, keeping fully geared alts...levels of "hardcore" play that only those who truly have no life or significant others can obtain.