You’ll soon be able to pay for your WoW subscription with in game-gold

[ahhming]

Soon you will be able to play World of Warcraft without spending any real world money as Blizzard is going to start accepting in-game gold for subscription time.

There will also be a new in-game item will also be coming in to play, it is called the WoW token, which can be purchased with real money and then sold on the auction house, allowing you to buy in-game gold without going to dodgy third-party farmers.

 

In-game gold can also be used to purchase a token, which can then be redeemed for 30 days of game access. Prices have not been announced but this does give some gamers a way to enjoy the game without needing a subscription, which could lower the barrier for entry, allowing those that simply can’t afford a subscription to earn their game-time with gold.

Blizzard’s real aim with the WoW tokens appears to be the gold farmers though. With these tokens, players can generate and buy their own in-game gold within the game, eliminating the need to go to a gold farmer.

 

 

 

 
FAQ
THE BASICS

Q: How do I buy a WoW Token for real money?
A: WoW Tokens will be available for purchase for real money through the World of Warcraft in-game Shop. You can access the Shop through the row of feature buttons next to your character’s bags.

Q: I need gold! How do I sell a WoW Token to another player?
A: You’ll be able to sell WoW Tokens through a dedicated Token exchange in the Auction House, located in a new Game Time section. WoW Tokens cannot be traded or sold any other way.

Q: How much gold will I receive when I sell a WoW Token?
A: The gold value of a Token will be determined dynamically based on supply and demand. When you put a Token up for sale, you’ll be quoted the amount of gold you’ll receive upon a successful sale. If you then decide to place the Token up for sale, that amount is locked in, and the gold will be sent to your mailbox after another player purchases your Token.

Q: I need game time! How do I buy a WoW Token from the Auction House?
A: When you visit the Auction House, you’ll be presented with the current market price for a WoW Token in your game region—there’s no bidding involved, and all Tokens in a game region are priced the same at any given moment. If you decide to purchase one, you’ll receive it in your mailbox, and can then immediately redeem it for game time.

Q: How much game time do I get by redeeming a WoW Token?
A: You’ll receive 30 days of game time when you redeem a WoW Token.

Q: Can I resell a WoW Token after I’ve purchased it for gold?
A: No, each WoW Token can only be sold once. After you purchase a Token for gold, it becomes Soulbound. At that point, it can only be redeemed for game time.

THE DETAILS
Q: How much will a WoW Token cost on the Shop?
A: Pricing details will be announced at a later date.

Q: Why are you introducing the WoW Token feature?
A: We’ve heard feedback from players that they’d be interested in a secure, legitimate way to acquire gold that doesn’t involve the use of unauthorized third-party gold-selling services—one of the primary sources of account compromises. We also know players who’ve amassed large amounts of gold through regular play would be interested in the ability to trade some to other players in exchange for game time, helping cover their subscription costs. The WoW Token feature gives players on both sides of the equation a secure and straightforward way to make that exchange. It opens up a new kind of payment option for World of Warcraft players, and we hope that it will also help lead to fewer account compromises and a better game experience overall.

Q: How is acquiring gold by selling a WoW Token different from buying gold from third-party services?
A: Buying gold from third-party services negatively impacts the game experience for everyone. The overwhelming majority of the gold these services provide comes from stolen player accounts, halting the victims’ ability to play the game and contribute to their guilds. On top of this, gold selling companies often farm resources using hack programs, sell fake product codes as a scam, and spam entire realms with ads to buy gold, disrupting the game in very real ways.

The WoW Token allows players to exchange real money for gold in a secure and sanctioned way—together with the ongoing efforts of our developers, support staff, and anti-hack teams to stop the exploits these companies use and help players who have become victims of their operations, we hope the Token can help make World of Warcraft a safer and more enjoyable game for all of our players.

Q: Why can’t players set their own prices for the WoW Token?
A: The WoW Token feature is designed to facilitate the exchange of gold and game time between players in as secure, convenient, and fair a way as possible, and without making players feel like they’re playing a game with their hard-earned money. Having a set current market price and a straightforward exchange system is the best way to achieve that—you don’t need to worry about whether your Token will sell or not due to being undercut or the market shifting, and everyone receives exactly the amount of gold they were quoted.

Q: What happens if the price quoted to me is different from what the Token actually sells for?
A: You will always receive the gold amount quoted to you at the time you place a Token up for sale, regardless of what the current price is when the item actually sells.

Q: How long should I expect to receive my gold after putting a Token up for sale? How does the game determine whose Token to sell?
A: The amount of time it takes to receive your gold after putting a Token up for sale depends on a variety of factors, including the current supply and demand. When you list a Token, you’ll be quoted an estimated time based on the current Token supply and the rate of recent transactions, but the actual amount of time it takes to sell is likely to vary (note that Tokens do not expire). In most cases, Tokens are sold in the order in which they were put up for sale; however, there are some exceptions to this, such as when a Token purchase is undergoing verification.

Q: If I buy a WoW Token from the Auction House, how long does it take to receive the Token?
A: Just like a standard Auction House purchase, it will normally arrive in your mailbox nearly instantaneously.

Q: If I’m buying a WoW Token for real money from the in-game Shop, how long does it take to receive it?
A: Once you successfully complete a purchase, your Token should arrive in your inventory (or mailbox, if your inventory is full) almost immediately.

Q: Do Tokens expire? What happens if I accidentally delete one?
A: No, Tokens do not expire. They also can’t be deleted, so no need to fear accidentally trashing them.

Q: Can I stop my auction or receive a refund after it was purchased (for gold or real money)?
A: All transactions are considered final and auctions cannot be cancelled, so make sure you’re certain you want to proceed before listing or buying a Token. To help prevent unintentional transactions, you will be prompted to confirm your purchase or sale before it’s finalized.

Q: Is there a deposit? Does the Auction House take a cut of the Token seller’s gold?
A: There’s no deposit, and the Auction House does not take a cut of the gold for WoW Token sales. The standard deposit is designed to dissuade players from spamming the auction house with items that aren’t selling, and the standard cut is designed to dissuade players from buying and reselling items for minuscule markups. These issues don’t apply to the WoW Token, so there’s no need for a deposit or cut.

Q: Will each game region have its own WoW Token exchange? Will everyone in a game region have access to it?
A: Each game region—Americas (including ANZ realms), Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and China—will have its own shared WoW Token exchange. We’ll share additional details at a later date.

source:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/18141101/introducing-the-wow-token-3-2-2015

[Dabombinable]

They only just caught on that EVE online found it was a good idea (but with isk and plex instead of gold).

[Toddwjp]

basically those who pay to play support those who free to play (once they get going with the gold system) and vice versa

[Spideybro]

I am so excited for this change. I'm sure many people on this forum have tried WoW at some point in their lives and know all too well the gold sellers that spam trade chat. I'm certain this change will cripple the gold sellers pretty substantially. 

[spartaman64]

runescape take notes so i can pay for membership with my 2 bil

[Guest Strangerbob]

depends what is the real price for a month after the market has stabilized

 

 

if they expect me to grind wow for 3 weeks to pay for 1 week of time i can actually play something i want, they can go ********************************************

 

WOW is long past being so good a game that it could ask for a sub or any of this crap; today it should be a F2P or a one time buy at best.

[Totallycasual]

This is actually not a bad idea, i unsubscribed some time ago now due to how little i was enjoying WoD but if i return to WoW next expansion i will be using gold to pay for my sub

[Yog]

I hope this leads to a more interesting economy in the game, including crafting, which has been pretty much crap since the game began.

[Misanthrope]

So freeish to play? Alright I might just start now

[Yoinkerman]

I'm really really not a fan of magic pricing.  Players need to set prices.

[Frankz]

runescape take notes so i can pay for membership with my 2 bil

You already can pay for membership with rsgp fyi lol. They added "bonds" almost a year ago ^^. You can buy em off the G.E

[RZeroX]

runescape take notes so i can pay for membership with my 2 bil

Think you are forgetting about bonds?

[Kamina]

runescape take notes so i can pay for membership with my 2 bil

I wish rares would go up again so I can flip my rare items and get at least 30 mil.