Dec 11
I Want Full Character Changes in WoW
Because apparently this is *the* week to roll out microtransaction announcements, Blizzard released their Character Re-Customization service on an unsuspecting Azeroth.
According to the customization page, for the price of $15 players can change:
- Gender
- Character Name
- Face
- Hair Style
- Skin Color
- Any other “cosmetic features determined by your race and gender combination.”
That’s a good start, but I want the whole keilbasa. I want class changes, and most especially I want race changes. I think racial changes would be the single most popular service Blizzard could offer. It’d be especially interesting if we could see race changes across traditional class lines as a sort of RP element. They’ve always used that old Gnomish Teleportation device as a metaphor for server transfers … why not let there be Blood Elf Warriors or Dwarven Mages?
The catch is that this is (again) largely a costmetic change. Keeping the price low on this should be priority. Keep the price at about $20 and I bet you’d get buckets of people signing up.
I view this as wholly natural, entirely understandable. People like change, they like to be able to try new things, and they like flexibility. Nothing wrong with providing them what they like.
8 comments8 Comments so far
I’d have to disagree with the race or class changes.
With class changes, why level a slow class when you can just level the fastest class and then change your class at 80?
For race changes, I think that would upset people. What?! I have to pay $20 if I want to create a blood elf warrior?!
I like that they keep it at the cosmetic level and nothing more.
It’s a completely cosmetic change, none of the factors have any in-game impact. That’s the whole point. Blizzard wants to avoid unforeseen and potentially imbalanced class/race combinations, like warstomping mages or Escape Artist hunters. With the new MMO on the works, Blizzard doesn’t want WoW to cause any extra work. They like it as it is: a cash cow.
We need Tauren Rogues.
So, you are saying that if I take a Tauren druid, I would, via your suggested service, be able to change him to look like a Blood Elf, but still retain all the racial abilities/bonuses and whatever? How about his mount? Do I end up with a blood elf riding a kodo, or should they swap at least the racial mount as well?
Hrmmm…..
And would that be a real Usinger’s kielbasa, or some store brand?
Sorry I wasn’t clear there. :)
What I want is for players to be able to cross over the class restrictions that Blizzard currently has in place. Because of awesome Gnomish technologies, for example, I could turn my Undead Rogue into an Undead Tauren. It’d be a totally ‘normal’ character in all respects other than the fact that it would be a race/class combination not previously possible.
I like the idea of cool uniqueness from a system like this.
Even just being able to switch to other legal race/class combinations would be nice. They could even be fussy and make you retain your Horde/Alliance allegiance. (No Tauren to Gnome, then.)
It’s really only one step removed from the Death Knight class anywho. Allow players at the level cap to create new characters at some arbitrary non-1 level. There’s not a huge difference in being able to change your existing character to something new.
I think the real trouble is that allowing such a race/class change would mean people wouldn’t be playing alts as much, and total sub time would go down. They can’t have that.
“Undead Rogue into an Undead Tauren”
Can I change my Human Paladin into a Human Gnome? ;)
Despite the teasing, I like the idea.