Blizzard "stealing" XP with leveling changes
by Mike Schramm 
Oct 10th 2007 at 3:30PM
Warcry has a super interesting reading of the XP leveling changes that Blizzard is making in 2.3. Their style is a little more, err, informal than ours, but they're right-- Blizzard is basically stealing XP from you in the next patch. Vaneras confirmed the other day that players who have a certain percentage of XP before the patch will keep that same percentage of XP, but not the same amount of XP. So, if, for example, you're halfway through level 59 when the patch hits, you'll lose about 600,000 XP that you've already earned.But before you get all angry about Blizzard wasting all that time you spent leveling, realize that things will likely even out in the end. Even though you'll lose 600,000 XP from the amount you have, you'll still be halfway through level 59, and you won't need as much XP as you did before to level to 60. So you haven't really "lost" anything, because even though Blizzard has "taken away" some XP, you didn't need what they took anyway.
As we've said before, these leveling improvements are going to be great news, not only for altaholics who are leveling up their third or fourth character by now, but also for guilds eager to see some new 70s to bring into the raiding mix. Folks who are leveling both before and after patch 2.3 are going to experience some strange math, but that happens all the time anyway (did you know that all the stuff you're killing at level 70 now doesn't count towards the experience you'll need to earn in the next expansion?). Blizzard is tweaking the numbers, but the experience will still be faster.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Leveling
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bobby Hansen Oct 10th 2007 3:40PM
These are the same people who whine about Apple dropping the price on the iPhone right?
"HOW DARE YOU MAKE THINGS MORE CONVENIENT AND MORE FUN??"
nein89 Oct 10th 2007 3:47PM
What? No. Just...no. It's not okay to be this stupid.
Garthnak Oct 10th 2007 3:48PM
Okay, so technically he's right. But as you say, his point is moot. They're "stealing" xp from him, but they're also effectively GIVING him xp in the form of a smaller amount required to level. So unless he's really got some emotional connection to the total NUMBER of experience points that he has (rather than how much xp he needs to level), he should be happy.
Ahoni Oct 10th 2007 3:52PM
Lets see ...
I order a small soda.
They are out of small cups.
They server the soda to me in a large cup.
I receive a large cup 1/2 empty.
They have stolen from me.
Good thinking there ...
Mike Oct 10th 2007 3:58PM
#4 - That's a bad analogy, but yes: the point made in the warcry post is stupid. And the poster is a stupid person for posting it. It's more like:
1) you were told to plow a an acre of farmland
2) you got halfway finished, which is to say that you plowed a half acre
3) you are told at that point that the land that really needs to be plowed is a half-acre plot on the other side of town, but
4) Good news! It's already half-plowed.
The final result is you only have to plow an additional quarter of an acre as opposed to the half acre you would have had to before. It's sort of annoying that you already plowed an entire half acre and if they told you off the bat that it was the half-acre plot that needed plowing you would be done, but ultimately you are still better off.
WoG Oct 10th 2007 3:58PM
LOL stealing XP.
Dear Blizzard,
Here, have MORE of my incredibly pointless pre-lvl 60 XP.
kthxbai.
Chuddy Oct 10th 2007 4:02PM
There's always one.
Paul Oct 10th 2007 4:01PM
i couldn't get through to the site, which i assume is because wowinsider readers are flooding it trying to check out the idiocy, but if what is written about it is accurate, then yeah, as 3 said, they are not stealing anything unless you have some emotional connection to the total number of XP you have. no matter what percent to the next level you are, it will be faster after the patch to reach that next level.
hmm, maybe this guy was just trying to get people riled up, and then take the opportunity to call us mathtards or something.
For The Pie Oct 10th 2007 4:19PM
Or a simple solution. Level right before the patch goes live. You won't lose any XP and you'll have less to reach your next level! WOOT problem solved.
Proof positive people will whine about everything.
Ahoni Oct 10th 2007 4:04PM
You are right, mine is a bad analogy.
rick gregory Oct 10th 2007 4:11PM
Um... in the example you're still half thru 59. AND the XP needed to level is less. And people are going to complain about this? Sigh...
Addie Oct 10th 2007 4:09PM
Math scares people. O.o 'specially percents!
Tridus Oct 10th 2007 4:18PM
See, if you need 100k to level, after this changes you will need less then 100k to level.
Its pretty amazing that we're now redefining stealing to include "you get to where you're going faster then previously."
People really will complain about everything. This is pathetic.
LordTurack Oct 10th 2007 5:20PM
With all this talk, about xp and leveling - the question comes to mind - what does this DO to the level 70's now who are killing/questing for gold instead of xp? The gold is based on the XP that you would have earned, so ??
Don't we all finance our alts with money from our 70? They lowered the reward for the prisoner daily run with the last patch.
Did anyone bring this part up yet to the devs?
JihadJohnny Oct 10th 2007 4:26PM
@13 Thats precisely what I was going to say. Just grind out that last bit till your next level, and stop. 5% in? stop now, no worries.
Paul Oct 10th 2007 4:25PM
@1,
The people pissed about the iphone weren't the prospective customers, they were the people who already bought the iphone, then found out that they could have saved 1/3 the price of the phone by waiting 2 months.
But the iphone buyers were dumb for buying a 1st gen piece of equipment,and apple was dumb for trying to use price discrimination so visibly and so clumsily.
I just love what one of the reporters on valley wag wrote about the price drop. It was something along the lines of "I hope the $200 of sucker's rent was worth the 2 months of insufferable smugness."
hahahaaa
Rich Oct 10th 2007 4:46PM
Its just BS stuff that is just going to freak people out. 95% of a level is still 95% of a level pre and post 2.3.
It just so happens that the post patch, the remaining 5% is just 15% smaller than the pre patch 5%.
I must be weird, I never paid attention to how much exp in numbers I need but just the percentage I need.
FantomRedux Oct 10th 2007 4:52PM
Ive got like a full level of rested to get through. Does this mean that ill lose that too? /end sarcasm
seriously, the dudes an idiot. you'll get there FASTER (just imagine that was in italics instead of caps :) than before. You don't NEED (same again) that 600k if you'll level with another 300k instead. and the next level will be shorter, and the next, and the... well you see where this is going.
Paul Oct 10th 2007 4:58PM
13 and 15, i had thought thought at first too, but i realized it really didn't matter what % to the next level you were before the patch. Either way, the rest of the way to the next level has been reduced by 15%.
So I guess, the smartest thing to do if you were really hard core about taking advantage of the patch, you would stop playing your character right now if he was level 20 or above, except to keep from butting up against the 30 bars of rest XP limit.
But then, if you just want to get to 70 fastest (instead of with the least effort), playing as much as possible starting now is still the way to go. :)
Felklaw Oct 10th 2007 5:22PM
I actually think I understand what he was trying to explain !
He isn't talking about that single level of EXP, he is talking about the total of EXP to get to that level from 1.
So if you now need 15% LESS exp per level, and that is over 59 levels, it works out to a lot of extra kills you had to do to get 60 pre 2.3
In that context it is making sense, but by the same token, his only alternative is to not level above 1 and wait until after 2.3 !!
As stated, big benefits for alts post 2.3
Deal with it and rather than thinking it's stolen EXP, think of it as speeding up your future levelling.