Despite the occasional drop in subscribers from time to time, World of Warcraft has been making a traditional subscription model work for over a decade. The powerhouse MMO supports a few million less players than it did at the game's peak, but there are still more than enough players to make the $15/month charge more profitable than an optional subscription fee with a micro-transaction system like the one found in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Although Blizzard has no intention of bailing on the monthly charge, the developer is finally ready to offer a potential alternative for some of the Azeroth's wealthiest in-game heroes.

How To Purchase A Wow Token
How To Buy Wow Token With Real Money Online
Selling Wow Token
How To Buy A Wow Token
How To Buy Wow Token With Real Money 2020

Blizzard has gone on record many times in the past few years explaining that WoW is still plenty profitable and there is no need to reevaluate the subscription model. One part of the game that the company is less thrilled with is the third-party gold market. Since the game's launch, gold farmers have been turning a real-world profit by selling in-game currency in exchange for real world dollars (on whatever your country's currency of choice is). Most of that gold comes from hacked accounts and Blizzard has tried to fight this trend with increased security and secondary password authenticators. The developer has finally had enough and is ready to take the fight to the Gold-selling marketplace by opening up their own storefront.

Blizzard's plan is simple. The company will attempt to eliminate the demand for a third-party Gold vendor by offering the chance to buy Gold in-game (sort of). Players will be able to buy WoW Tokens (worth 30 days of gameplay) from Blizzard. These Tokens can then be sold on the auction house for in-game currency. Alternatively, players can save up in-game Gold and buy Tokens from the AH to save some real-world money. Lead game designer Ion Hazzikostas spoke to IGN about the new feature...

The WoW Token allows players to buy game time with gold in-game, or buy game time with real money and sell that game time via a token for gold in-game. This guide covers how to buy and sell the WoW Token. Want to know the price of the tokens? Check out WoWToken.info or 'Today in WoW' on Wowhead's front page. WoW Token Basics.

“I don’t know if I would characterize this as in any way being a move away from WoW being a pure subscription MMO... I think it’s just offering more access and flexibility in terms of how those subscriptions are paid. At the end of the day, every player in the game has an active subscription or a month of game time that’s been purchased by them or someone else in order to play the game. It’s just about the dual objective of broadening access and letting people have more flexibility about how they pay while striking a blow against the third-party Gold-selling market that’s been a blight on the game for such a long period of time.'

The new option may appear to be Blizzard dipping its toes in the free-to-play waters, but the developer insists that this change is all about fighting the third-party Gold market. The company has been unable to shut down the Gold shops in the past and is attempting to find solutions from newer MMOs (like Wildstar's C.R.E.D.D. model).

At $20 a pop, it would cost about $720 in gold tokens to be able to afford your long boi. Needless to say, spending that much real-life money on an in-game mount is not ideal.
You could buy pets on one server and sell them on another, but that takes quite a while. You could store a lot of gold on a character and transfer him to the other realm; you could buy 2 wow tokens on 1 realm, convert them to bnet balance and then buy another wow token on the new server and sell it there.
For earning gold too, you need WoW tokens, and for that, you need to go to in-game shop and opt for purchasing a token for real money. After purchasing the token, you have to put it for sale in the Auction House if you want to earn some money and then wait until the Auction gets over.

“I think there’s no question we looked at how C.R.E.D.D. worked out in Wildstar, I mean that’s a game that’s certainly more similar to us and our ecosystem than something like Eve... [In WoW] while more gold is useful, it’s not the same lifeblood it is in other games. But looking at how it worked out elsewhere certainly gave us confidence that this was the right way to go... I’m certainly not going to object to a characterization of us as a group that’s willing to adapt and evolve and move with the times because I think we totally do. We’re also looking to improve upon the experience and the features that are out there.”

One important detail that is hard to determine at this time is how much the Tokens will sell for in the Auction House. The WoW community will determine the Gold worth of the Tokens and the value will likely vary a bit from realm to realm. Until the change is implemented and we see what players are willing to spend, it's hard to guess how will this experiment will work.

Do you plan to dodge the subscription fee by cashing in some Gold for a Token in the AH? Do you plan to make some in-game Gold by buying a few Tokens? Let us know in the comments.

World of Warcraft is available now for PC and Mac.

Source: IGN

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About The AuthorThe WoW Token to Battle.net Balance feature is now live on US realms! You can redeem the token for $15 of Battle.net balance now, which can be used on WoW pets, Blizzard games and Digital Deluxe versions, character services like realm changes and more. Edit: added more screenshots to the article as proof. Edit 2: Added Blizzard's own blog and video on WoW Token Updates.
Edit: this is also live on EU realms. One token can be redeemed for 13 EUR / 10 GBP of Battle.net Balance.

Battle.net Balance Redemption Screenshots

We were able to confirm this and took the screenshots below of the process:

How Battle.net Balance Works

Battle.net Balance, as described on the official site, 'is an electronic balance players can use to purchase Blizzard Entertainment games and services.'
You can use your Battle.net balance to purchase the following:
Digital versions of Blizzard games including Digital Deluxe editions - these versions of games have additional goodies like WoW pets.
Character services like realm and faction transfer.
World of Warcraft mounts, pets, cosmetic helms from the in-game shop.
Hearthstone card packs and adventures.
Heroes of the Storm Heroes, skins, and mounts.

Blizzard's WoW Token Blog

Blizzard

The goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel have a golden opportunity for you, friend—introducing a new way to use your WoW® Token. It’s just as easy as ever, but now when you use gold to buy a WoW Token from the Auction House in certain regions, you can to choose whether to convert it into 30 days of game time or Battle.net Balance*. You can use Battle.net Balance to buy services like World of Warcraft character transfers, digital products like pets and mounts, and even purchase in-game items for other supported Blizzard games you play.
Buying a Token is simple: just visit the Auction House and use your hard-earned gold to purchase one of the WoW Tokens put up for sale. Once the Token arrives in your in-game mailbox, right-click it to add it to your bag, then right-click it in your inventory. You’ll then be able to choose whether to add 30 days of game time or add Battle.net Balance ($15 USD; currency and amount varies by region) to your Battle.net account.For more information, check out our Battle.net Balance support page and WoW Token support page.*WoW Tokens can only be redeemed for Battle.net Balance in the currency associated with the registered Battle.net account address. Other restrictions apply.
FAQQ: I need gold! How do I buy a WoW Token for real money and put it up for sale for gold?
A: WoW Tokens are available for purchase for real money through the World of Warcraft in-game Shop. You can access the Shop through the main menu (Esc) or the row of feature buttons next to your character’s bags.
You can then sell your WoW Token through a dedicated exchange in the Auction House, located in the WoW Token section. W

How To Buy Wow Token With Real Money