wow Should the Double XP Buff Be Extended?

[Starym 3,800]

 

The Winds of Wisdom 100% extra experience buff is set to expire on April 20th, less than a week from now and, as you'd imagine, the community isn't too happy about it. Now, as with any buff that's been added to any game, this was expected, but this one in particular has some pretty big factors adding to the desire to keep it around longer.

The buff itself was initially implemented on March 20th as many people had to stay home due to the Corona virus pandemic. Unfortunately, and as we all know too well, that hasn't changed in the past month and many more people have been self-isolating since then, as the pandemic keeps spreading and people realized it wasn't going to go away any time soon. With so much more free time on people's hands, the buff has been a great tool to allow them to experience other classes at a higher level, or even in the endgame, racing through the leveling content. Not to mention the draw of it for returning players who've been away for a while and brand new players as well (although the actual fast leveling for those completely new to the game may actually be detrimental).

We also now have a whole lot of Shadowlands coverage with the Alpha, Blizzard previewing the new expansion's features and the crazy amount of datamining happening as well, making players really excited for what's coming and WoW in general. And so we have a whole lot of desire to play the game, and with the class changes and new abilities coming in Shadowlands, many players aren't quite sure which class to play - meaning they want to have as many options as possible available when the expansion gets here. There's also players that just want to play 8.3 with a different class/classes, which has been a problem throughout BfA due to the limiting factors of essences and their alt-unfriendlyness and the more recent Corruption system, but both have recently been much improved, making the big barrier to new alts the leveling.

Another factor is the Shadowlands alpha itself, as the revamped and squished leveling there is taking a whole lot less time than in retail, even with the XP buff active. We have players getting to level 50 (equivalent to today's level 120) in 12 hours in the alpha, and even though that may not be the actual XP balance Shadowlands ends up having, it's still a bit of a thorn in everyone's side with the Winds of Wisdom buff going away.

And so the XP buff is here at a perfect time and players have been enjoying it a lot, whether it's getting ready for Shadowlands with as many classes as possible and just getting the feel for the classes at max level, for an easier choice when the expansion comes, or just to play the current endgame and maybe gather up some transmog for their potential future main.

Purely from a financial standpoint, it seems beneficial for Blizzard if more players have more classes ready for Shadowlands, allowing them a whole lot more choice and definitely getting them more hyped for the expansion - if we all had every class ready to go when it finally drops we'd definitely be more excited for it. While Blizzard definitely expected players to ask for an extension to the buff, there are a lot of new factors they may not have taken into account when limiting the event to 1 month, so it is possible we hear about an extension before April 20, so let's see what happens!

Here are a few reddit posts on the matter:

[Seksi 208]

I agree it should be kept, the game is in a really good place with the XP buff right now and even my wife and her friends have started playing as well, would be great to have it on for them to reach the end game on a timely manner and be able to experience WoW with multiple chars ? 

[Stan 5,240]

A lot of zones feel alive thanks to the buff, and it keeps people busy, I'd say keep it until Shadowlands hits, and we have the overhaul, but that's just my take. Many people are still stuck at home, so it's likely the buff will get extended.

[ignringerfinger 11]

Yes.

[Resnar 37]

Give people purpose to play while waiting shadowland, I'm already done with high level content I just want to chill a bit before no lifing shadowland 

[Wildwitch 108]

I agree. I have played for years (on and off) and I am finally leveling those alts on all 4 servers. It's nostalgic and not a chore with this bonus! I have been "stuck at home" for a couple of years due to a workplace injury and this game is better than anti-depressants! Now they need to lift the 50 character per account hold!

[Omedon 2]

Absolutely on board with this.  All other gaming that isn't WoW is currently on hold while the buff is active.  They will lose my patronage so fast as soon as my altoholic time takes the efficiency hit that would happen between the potential end of the buff and the SL leveling rework.

While we are at home, after a taste of the buff, the current iteration of the game without the buff is no longer acceptable.  The buff absolutely does not break the game, it is therefore the only acceptable new normal until the leveling rework, a rework which is itself an admission that something like the winds of wisdom is indeed needed in the context of existing leveling pace.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Omedon

[Jiinxy 1]

PLEASE extend the buff! So much left to do....and SO MUCH TIME!!!

[Toky 37]

I was just thinking about this today. Nice to know I am not the only one who instinctively thinks this is a good idea. I've already leveled 2 characters. One that is at least 8 years old I abandoned at level 43, and another I raised 1-60 so I could boost with professions...only to find Blizzard stole that from us. 

I have a dozen abandon characters i would love to level while we wait for the next expansion.

[Vida 4]

Yes please extend it..I finally have a motivation to level alts actually

[rollinscm 2]

Please let this happen!  I’m a film editor so my  workload has been crazy here at home.  Having said that, I haven’t been able to take advantage of this like others have.  I would love this to happen. 

[Leopaulbill 0]

They should keep IT in shadowland too ... From level 1 to 50 so ppl want to level a New character can and Do the last 10 level as fast as it should be normally

[Prophet001 598]

I don't think so. Blizz always has some level your alts thing at the end of every expansion but they don't persist.

 

Neither should this.

 

Also, leveling in SL is already going to be a fraction of what it was. I don't really want to go hit a wolf outside of SW and ding 50.

[dartbodman 64]

It should definitely stay until Shadowlands. Even with the earlier expansions having their normal nerfs to xp required, 120 is a daunting number.

[Starym 3,800]

1 hour ago, Prophet001 said:

I don't think so. Blizz always has some level your alts thing at the end of every expansion but they don't persist.

 

Neither should this.

 

Also, leveling in SL is already going to be a fraction of what it was. I don't really want to go hit a wolf outside of SW and ding 50.

While I can't say I'm 100% sure it should stay til Shadowlands either, I feel it's kind of a perfect storm for it to stick around for another month or two.

[Ariecho 15]

Do we have any feedback what minimum item level will be needed in Shadowlands?  Am I right understanding that only level-120 characters will be able to go there, and in that case, what's the minimum item level deemed survivable (if any)?

[Kamanakai808 0]

On 4/14/2020 at 12:47 PM, Stan said:

A lot of zones feel alive thanks to the buff, and it keeps people busy, I'd say keep it until Shadowlands hits, and we have the overhaul, but that's just my take. Many people are still stuck at home, so it's likely the buff will get extended.

I completely agree about extending the buff. My family has been playing together for the past three weeks, something we haven't done in years. The buff has made me level up alts and I see so many more people playing in the zones I am assuming they are back because of the buff as well. I really hope they continue it at least for another month.