New expansion, new raid sizes
Also hotly debated before the launch of Burning Crusade were the changing sizes of raid groups, from 40 and 20 players to 25 and 10. In fact, this change posed a tricky challenge for many communities (and especially guild and raid leaders).
Should we now shrink the oversized roster from Vanilla WoW and throw out or bench players who have always been there? Or take on more players to organize two 25-player groups, which could also lead to interpersonal friction?
Both in the original TBC and in Burning Crusade Classic, guilds failed and ceased to exist due to this challenge. World of Warcraft itself, however, did not suffer lasting damage from this change despite all the doomsaying.
Shadowlands and sexism scandal
The summer of 2021 was tough for Blizzard in general and WoW in particular. On the one hand, the scandal bombshell burst in July when the lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing came to light.
The Shadowlands expansion faced launch issues – the cinematic with Sylvanas and Bolvar is one of the few highlights:
The accusations: Racism, sexual harassment, misogyny, discrimination, and disadvantage are said to have been commonplace at Activision Blizzard for years. In the middle of it all: some notable WoW developers.
On the other hand, however, the Shadowlands expansion also disappointed. Endgame features like Torghast did not ignite, the setting was difficult for many players to grasp, and Patch 9.1 came seven months after launch. By this time, the subscription numbers may have been as low as they have ever been. The data from Blizzard from GDC 2024 underscores this.
WoW receives Pay2Win feature
When the WoW Token was introduced in Europe in April 2015, it was the first opportunity officially allowed by Blizzard to purchase in-game gold for World of Warcraft with real euros.
This way, the developers sought to put a stop to unauthorized real-money trading while also raking in some cash themselves – after all, each subscription paid with the WoW Token brings in 20 instead of the usual eleven to thirteen euros.
However, for some players, Blizzard crossed a red line with the introduction of the WoW Token. Someone with a lot of money can now buy any items that are not soulbound on pickup.
The extent of this Pay2Win concept is shown by the enormous investments of ambitious progress guilds that prepare their numerous characters with an incredible financial outlay for every World First race.
When the WoW Token was unexpectedly introduced into WotLK Classic in May 2023, the mood among many players soured again, following the motto: With this, this version of WoW is also dead to me. Rest in peace!
Now it’s your turn! Have you followed and even participated in these controversies? At what point did you turn your back on WoW? Or are you still regularly visiting Azeroth? Let us know in the comments! And take part in our survey and vote for the best MMORPG of all time.
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