The Trading Post basically seems to be a MTX in-game shop, only without the MTX. For the F2P games, an in-game shop is a necessity. But it's almost like Blizzard feels an in-game shop is an actual attraction, in and of itself. Which is madness.
Part of my confusion is that I've always seen art as the bottleneck in modern game creation. There's got to be a better use of artists than turning out models for the in-game shop for in-game currency. Like even add the art as rewards for a simple quest chain, or extra rewards in the regular content.
Some people might say that the Trading Post art doesn't "fit" the current content, and that's true. But generally artists in corporations don't choose what to work on. They can pitch various ideas, but the business picks what it feels should be made. If the business wants art that fits the current content, that's what will be made.
I also don't see the Trading Post as a driver of engagement. At least for me, I tend to hit the Trading Post goals as a byproduct of engaging with the regular content. The Great Vault drives engagement, not the Trading Post. This is unlike a system like Galactic Seasons in SWTOR, where you would look to see what the season goals were, and that would inform what content you did.
The other thing that annoys me is the incessant in-game advertising for the Trading Post. Again, this is a necessary evil for F2P games, but it does make those games worse. As far as I can tell, WoW is deliberately inflicting this advertising on the players for no positive reason, just pure "enshittification".
I guess maybe the Trading Post is a hedge against the day WoW goes F2P, either overall or in a specific reason. But it feels like a terrible waste to me with the current game. The resources put into the Trading Post could be redirected to making the actual game better.
The Great Vault drives engagement, not the Trading Post.
ReplyDeleteI mean... according to who? I came back to retail at the end of BfA and didn't even interact with the Great Vault until mid-Dragonflight, since it didn't do anything for casual players. This has changed now, but even so, I tend to think very little about the vault, it's just something to collect once a week.
I think the Trading Post is meant to be a very, very mild way of having something like a season pass, to get people who are subscribed but perhaps not playing much (anymore) to interact with the game in some way. Yes, when you're neck-deep into a new expansion, the Traveller's Log will fill itself on the first day of the month without you even trying, but when you're not that active it does take a bit of time. I'm not sure how well it works, but I can see the appeal.
Also, I'm curious where you're seeing incessant in-game advertising for the Trading Post? I don't think I've ever seen any other than on the new patch splash screen.
I think the Trading Post does drive engagement. It's just not the same audience that would necessarily be focused on the Great Vault, though there is an overlap.
ReplyDeleteI've found it a fun little addition to the game where there's generally an item or two that I would like to have. Most of it I don't care about, but I know someone else will be excited by those items I pass over. It's been a nice way of making some cosmetics available in-game by doing in-game activities for all levels of players. Items that might have otherwise been put on the cash shop. That Blizzard has expanded content outside of the Raid/Mythic+ group is a Good Thing. Giving options to more casual players has to help the long-term health of this game.