The World Economy of Warcraft
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
Over 10.7 million subscribers comprise the current World of Warcraft (WoW). Far and away the largest MMO on the market, WoW will be the main virtual economy that I analyze. Given the complexity and depth of WoW, it is necessary to give a basic description of the game for those who are not familiar with any MMO.
Don’t get bored with this article if you are a veteran of WoW or other MMOs, I promise there will be advanced articles once we get the basics out of the way.
I present to you, then, Roboticus. A max level warrior with a sum of 50 days spent in WoW, Roboticus can speak with experience on WoW’s economy, but also its general playstyle. Roboticus started playing in late 2007, and since hitting max level (level 70 in WoW), he has pursued endgame content such as player versus player (pvp) competition along with killing some of the most fearsome monsters in WoW.
What is the point of WoW?
Players start in WoW with a very weak and poorly dressed character in some backwater or inauspicious location in the game world. A friendly looking NPC in front of them looks keen to start up a conversation. The NPC then instructs the newly formed character to complete some mundane task, such as collect 8 wolf pelts or collect a few dried mushrooms. Upon completing this quest the character is rewarded with some material item, such as a new, slightly less ugly pair of pants, along with a handful of copper or silver currency.
And thus begins the addictive cycle of wealth acquisition. This sense of material gain, apportioned out over intervals that maximize the feeling of accomplishment, is the basis for many player’s addiction and infatuation with WoW.
After completing a few quests, the character levels up. They become a little bit strong, more agile, or more wise, allowing them to kill the next wolves or other mobs (monsters) a little more easily. The character also learns new skills, such as the ability to stun or poison an enemy.
