In World of Warcraft, there is a new level boost. For 60 euros, you can completely skip leveling and jump to level 60; behind this lies an extended level boost. Activision Blizzard has already made a lot of money from cash shops in the past.
Quasi “on the side”, while World of Warcraft presented the content of the upcoming patch 9.2, a new offer was also released in the game’s shop. The “level boost” has been updated and now allows players to skip almost all content from Shadowlands.
What kind of boost is this? For 60 €, you can now buy a boost in World of Warcraft that directly elevates a character to the current maximum level 60. This means you don’t have to level in the old world or the current areas of Shadowlands. Instead, you can jump right in at level 60 and skip the – for some players – boring leveling process.
This allows for direct entry into the endgame, meaning the covenant campaigns, Torghast, Korthia, or group activities like Mythic+, raids, or PvP.
Why is the boost coming now? That Blizzard sells boosts in World of Warcraft is nothing new. In earlier expansions, it has been possible to elevate a character directly to the current maximum level. Typically, this boost would only come with the last patch of the current expansion and not prior to that.
Why Blizzard is raising the boost so early this time is open to speculation. The community has two theories, both of which could be true at the same time:
- WoW wants to make entry easier and enable a catch-up to the current endgame quickly.
- The boost is intended to increase the revenue of World of Warcraft in the current quarter.
Is the boost worth it? Whether skipping the leveling phase is worth a hefty 60 € is something everyone will have to decide for themselves. Leveling a new character typically only takes a few evenings – those who have sufficient free time should save the money. For those who cannot muster the motivation to complete all the quests again, the boost could indeed be worthwhile.
However, keep in mind: Next week, WoW will celebrate its 17th birthday. Traditionally, there is a 17% XP boost that is active throughout the entire event. This greatly accelerates leveling and could provide enough incentive for many to level “by hand” instead.
It is also important to know that the level boost does not work to unlock the legacy armors of allied races (such as Void Elves or Zandalari Trolls). You will only obtain these armors if you level the character without a boost.
Activision Blizzard fully relies on cash shop instead of new games
What makes this exciting? According to the current business report from Activision Blizzard, the company generated 1.2 billion US dollars in 3 months from microtransactions.
While new games at Blizzard, such as Overwatch 2 or Diablo IV, have been pushed back, microtransactions in games like Call of Duty: Warzone or indeed World of Warcraft are apparently becoming increasingly popular.
Are you going to take advantage of the level boost? Do you prefer to level the traditional way – or not at all if it’s not fun?
