Friday, February 16, 2007

The Ethics of Buying World of WarCraft Gold

Here is a great article discussing the pros and cons of being able to buy World of Warcraft Gold so readily through third party currency providers.
PAY real cash for virtual goods. That is to what many players like Wang Kang Yi have resorted to quicken their progress in online games. The 25-year-old administrative executive shelled out $200 in March this year for 500 gold credits in World of Warcraft, a popular massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). And he thinks the money was well-spent. 'I couldn't afford to be glued in front of the computer for at least two hours at a stretch since I was already working full time. 'By doing my sums, I realized that it would take me about 100 playing hours to earn that amount of gold. Buying became a better alternative,' said the game fanatic.
Replete with night elves, Orcs and dwarves, World of Warcraft is set in a fantasy world not unlike Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. Thousands of players interact with one another in real time through the virtual environment, and earn gold credits through their team conquests. For Mr. Wang, adding the virtual currency he bought to his own hard-earned cache of gold meant that he could finally purchase his object of desire - a horse worth a princely sum of 900 gold credits. He is not alone. Many computer gamers around the world are paying hard cash to gain an edge over others in the online fantasy world. Other games which attract such trading include Maple Story, Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Star Wars Galaxies and many more.
Players have been known to buy virtual money, rare items in the game or even entire characters with their associated powers and accompanying weapons. As it takes a lot of hard work, not to mention time and luck, to attain these virtual goods, the high prices they command seem reasonable. However, World of Warcraft player Eric Chua thinks otherwise. ;It does take a lot of time and effort to build a character to a level where you actually start to enjoy the gameplay, said the 29-year-old advertising brand manager. ;But the current market rate is just not something I would be willing to pay for.; A scan of auction site eBay produced over 700 results for various items of the game on sale. The highest-priced item is a World of Warcraft account sold by a New Yorker for US$5,000.
Meanwhile, to raise the game level of a character in the shortest time, known in gaming parlance as powerleveling, online hawkers are charging up to US$360. These vendors will log into your account and play the game for you. Indeed, the industry is so lucrative that China-based sweatshops and established companies, such as Miami-based Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE), have been set up just to 'farm'. The word is used to describe the activity of playing the game to acquire as much gold or items as possible for resale. Selling skills and weapons online, however, is frowned upon and banned by Blizzard Entertainment, the games developer of World of Warcraft. It has threatened to take legal action against individuals 'who engage in this inappropriate activity'.
World of Warcraft was launched late November 2004. Since March of 2005, the company has removed more than 800 players suspected of farming from its servers. Nonetheless, World Cyber Games organizers Herman Ng can understand where the allure of buying gold lies. MMORPGs have very immersive environments. So whatever you possess in that world, your friends can see it. To obtain a rare item or to be an advanced player gives you bragging rights in a way, said the 27-year-old. Others, however, feel adding real money into the equation taints the value of the play and destroys the enjoyment of the game. Audio engineer Willy Goh, 28, said: I would never buy World of Warcraft Gold because the fun is in the journey. The sense of achievement is in finally killing that ultra-big monster, not in amassing items or cheap gold. IT writer Chan Chi-Loong, 29, agrees. Some people might feel that their time is precious, so to get the maximum enjoyment from the game, they pay for a short cut to the process, he said. But if you get to the advanced level too easily, it loses its value. In that sense, I prefer to just enjoy the game for what it is.
I think this article raises some interesting points, mainly that purist think buying cheap world of warcraft gold wrecks the game, while others believe it levels the playing fields and helps people who cannot devote long hours playing World of Warcraft every week. Which ever side of the debate you are on, World of WarCraft Gold selling is a multi-million dollar business that is not going to go away any time soon.

Professional PowerLeveling Services (World of Warcraft and others)

Power Leveling is most frequently used in multiplayer games, where it usually refers to a player that is of much greater power assisting a player of much lower power in defeating enemies that are far too powerful for the low level player, but are easily and quickly killed by the more powerful player. Defeating high level challenges rewards the lower level player with experience points more rapidly than normal.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to buying a World of Warcraft powerleveling or a used World of Warcraft account. They both serve similar purposes in which you can start playing at a much higher level rather than starting fresh at level 1.
In World of Warcraft Powerleveling or Power Leveling has become so popular for players looking to quickly advance through the lower and not very exciting levels of the game that a number of profession gaming companies have set up powerleveling or power leveling services.
If you buy a WoW power leveling session you are basically just hiring players to level up your character in which can save you time. Power leveling sessions are really cheap, normally alot less than the $5/hr minimum wage offered in the US because most of the workers who are leveling are based in China. Not only that but they normally are able to level faster than the average player considering they have workers rotating shifts along with many many practices in the game. One of the best part of leveling a brand new character is that you will have a fresh reputation of the character and you would be able to name the character as you like. You can even have the character trained the way you want as well. The disadvantage of a WoW power leveling session is that during the session you wouldn't be able to log on and play the character until its been completed. So for a little downtime you get to have your character at the level you want at next to maximum speed.
One of the Most reliable and honest Power Leveling sellers is VanGogh's Power-Gamers RPG Vault. These companies, for a fee will help you enhance your World of Warcraft character. They log into your account and play your character either for a certain amount of time or until a certain level or objective is achieved. While your character is being leveled you are required not to login to your account. Most offer the following power leveling (powerleveling) services:
  • Customized Packages, you specify what type of character development you are looking for and work with the company to create a package. Usually more expensive then pre-defined options.
  • Part Time development, this is done over a set number of hours - 6, 12, 24, 36, or 48. A professional gamer plays your character for this set amount of time.
  • Specific development from one level to a higher level. e.g. From level 20 up to 40. You pay a set amount of money for this service and it is done over time, usually with a guaranteed maximum time limited to achieve the desired level.
  • Professions development, from Mining to Blacksmithing.
  • Increase your Honor Kills for PvP & PvE servers.
  • Complete Quest, Get your character gear
  • Get Keys or build your characters reputation
DO's & DON'Ts When Buying World of Warcraft Power Leveling Services:
When looking for a World of Warcraft power leveling (powerleveling) service make sure they DO NOT have your character do any of the following: employed in Player-Killing, Kill-Stealing, hoarding of farming locations, or any other despicable in-game behavior.
DO make sure they're following this: No macros, dupes, game bug exploits, and other such fraudulent methods will never be used. In short, your character will be leveled the safest way possible: by going through the grind.
Buying a used World of Warcraft account is very similar to power leveling. The advantage is that your character will likely be geard with some nice equipment and you won't need to spend the time waiting for the character to be leveled. It's a faster option of power leveling. But unlike power leveling, you won't have some privileges if you buy a used account such as naming the character with what you want and training the character the way you prefer. Along with that you may have to live with the reputation that the previous owner lived up to. It may be good but not always. It's a little risk that comes with it.
Both methods are great, as for pricing, I would think a used account would cost less since. Power levelers usually have their own rate as to a player quitting the game and selling their account. If you prefer to have a more fresh start, go with power leveling. If you prefer the speed then a used account would be optional but of course you would need to spend the time finding the account as well. Visit VanGogh's Power-Gamers RPG Vault for a great site relating to buying mmorpg currencies, accounts, power leveling and items.
Where to Buy PowerLeveling Services for most of today's MMORPGs?
While there are numerous companies advertising their power leveling (powerleveling) services the only one I recommend is VanGogh's Power-Gamers RPG Vault. Visit them today if you want an honest, reliable powerleveling seller.