Buying spots in raids
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 15th 2008 at 3:00PM
Adam asked how much a guild should charge for a spot in a ZA raid, but Lane on WoW LJ comes at the issue from the other side: how much should you offer? Personally, like a lot of comments on Adam's post, I'd offer nothing -- I'd much rather earn everything I wear rather than just paying out gold to be in someone else's raid run.But certainly there are quite a few folks out there, who, for whatever reason, are either at their wits' end and ready to spend money, or just too lazy or busy to join a guild themselves. So what's the going rate for a boss? Adam's post landed pretty low -- 500g to 2500g definitely got the most votes, and I'm guessing that was mostly because there was no free option. So, depending on how well you know the guild you'll be running with, seems like a good idea would be to start at around 500g, and then head upwards from there.
Of course, especially on a relatively early dungeon like ZA, it's not really that hard to get 10 people together and run it every week -- even if you're not a hardcore raider, running just one raid instance a week is enough to get you learning how it works and building up your gear.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, Blizzard, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Clevins Jul 15th 2008 3:15PM
In ZA the only reason to buy a spot is to get a bear. And the reason to worry about that is that the bear mount will go away when WotLK ships so you won't be able to come through with some level 75 friends and get it.
Aside from that? the loot's too random to worry about paying gold...
brent Jul 15th 2008 3:17PM
Our guild sells bear runs on our server. It is working out pretty well too. Customers happy, we give them rolls on any loot that drops in the process too.
No 25 man content though.
Nick S Jul 15th 2008 3:17PM
i've seen bear mounts go for 6000g, and frankly that seems pretty reasonable. that's a few hundred gold per person for the runners.
you're basically asking for a group of people who are so well-geared and experienced in ZA that they can 9-man it. that's a pretty small percentage of the in-game population, "early dungeon" or no.
as for being too lazy to just go get a bear mount yourself? bear runs are no joke - not everyone has the guild for them, the gear for them, or the time for them. i won't buy one, but i'm not judging those who do.
Godless_angel Jul 19th 2008 7:20AM
On my server they go for 7500G.
The way that several guilds i've seen do it is to ten man it until the last boss, and then bring in the payer for that boss. To get the other bosses down and leave enough time to nineman the last isn't so hard, so i think most guilds are charging too much.
Nick S Jul 16th 2008 3:05PM
interesting - it seems like pulling that last person in might lose them some time.
way i've seen it, they bring the customer along from the beginning and also give them first dibs on any gear drops along the way.
Allen Jul 15th 2008 3:23PM
You know, I don't get how buying raid spots is any different than selling arena points.
Nogun Jul 15th 2008 3:30PM
Well obtaining gold is part of the PvE game just like raiding costs a ton in repairs and consumables.
PvP on the other hand has little to do with gold.
Thallid Jul 15th 2008 3:40PM
There's also the fact that an infinite amount of Bear Mounts can exist in the game, as long as raid groups can finish the time event in time. However, there IS a finite amount of the 310% speed Nether Drakes to be rewarded to that top 0.5%.
So yes, both the money issues and the availability of the mounts differ for these two situations.
Paul Jul 15th 2008 3:32PM
My guild used to sell Bear Mounts for 5,000g and we still sell BT loot. The BT loot money goes direct to the guild bank, and the bear mount money is partially split up among the members and a chunk of it also goes to the guild bank. Our guild bank pays for pots, flasks and respecs for people that are required to switch a lot, so it really works out in the end for everyone, especially because when we used to do SWP progression the amount of gold we threw away in repairs and consumables is scary to think about. However, I know the people who do buy the loot get made fun of for paying for it...
anon Jul 15th 2008 3:42PM
i love people who talk about the ease of earning drops like all that it requires is signing up 9 or 24 other people, rolling your face on the keyboard and getting all the loot. if it really is that simple than there wouldn't be a market for raid spots would there?
Stig Jul 15th 2008 3:43PM
I'd consider buying a Bear mount, but nothing else. At least on my server, its easy enough to get a pug for anything up to Mag/Grull, and even SSC on occasion. BT, Hyjal, Sunwell you can get into if you know someone in a guild thats running it and they happen to be short for the evening.
The thing with Bear mounts is that if you're guild isn't progessed enough to do the timed event, you have no chance at seeing one drop unless you pay for it. And since its going away with Wrath, I see the point behind it. If you really want epic gear, why not just run heroics for badges, or start a Kara pug once a week for badges? The newest badge gear is pretty good.
James A. Jul 15th 2008 3:44PM
Personally, I can't see spending that kind of money on the bear mount, but then again I spend most of my time raiding so my gold is flowing out almost as fast as it comes in.
I have, however, participated in buying spots in 25 mans. Or to be more clear it was a sorta pug with mostly t6 people and some raid spots open for others to run through SSC and you only pay gold for the gear you get. This worked out well for me because we had stopped running SSC for a time and were working on TK almost exclusively so going back and spending 600g for 2 pieces of T5 and a nice belt was a very reasonable expense.
I stepped out before they did Vashj because at the time my guild had not downed her and I didn't want to ruin the experience of killing her.
This was back before they opened up Hyjal/BT attunement to the masses of course.
WoWGeek Jul 15th 2008 3:49PM
For a lot of players, including myself, switching to a guild that is higher in progression is not really an option. This could be for a variety of reasons. For example, I am an officer in my wife's guild, so unless I want to be the victim of spousal wrath, switching guilds is somewhat out of the question. That's in addition to all the friends I have in the guild.
That said, my gear is pretty much maxed out for where our guild is at (all but 2 bosses in Kara are left). We don't have the numbers for 25 mans, so outside of ZA, there are not a lot of upgrades for my toons in the near future. Given our server population and the lack of raid pugs, getting a raid spot with one of the more progression oriented guilds would be my only option for gear upgrades. However, most progression guilds won't just give non-guildmembers a spot on their roster (for understandable reasons), so if I had the option of buying myself a spot for some T5 gear, I would certainly take it.
My stance is that if I get in, I will do everything I can to avoid being a dead weight. I might be undergeared, but that doesn't mean I can't be useful in some way. If I were to buy a spot in a raid, I would not treat it as a run-through, but rather to compensate whoever is sitting out that night so I can go.
Datone Jul 15th 2008 3:55PM
http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/07/05/buying-your-way-through-raids/
http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/05/07/forum-post-of-the-day-purchasing-raid-epics-poll/
Are we having a slow day that we have to re-write articles that have already been written about?
Rugus Jul 15th 2008 4:00PM
Buying a Bear mount sounds like buying gold: someone works out the solution for you and you're not the brave one who actually "earned" the mount. Asking uber-people to accomplish the task in your place is.. well, pretty silly, in my opinion.
Getting a Nether Drake, for example, requires some effort, time and dedication. If you see someone flying a drake, they did not "buy" it. They just "won" it playing the game.
Now... everyone mounting a bear can be just a rich guy who paid someone to obtain the mount :). I really don't like the idea, at all.
Elunore Jul 15th 2008 5:07PM
Everytime I see someone on a bearmount, I always wonder, if they bought it or not. I know alot of people thinks the same. I for one wouldnt want a bearmount, even if I got it for free or if I got it the usual way, I wouldnt want to use it because of the above. I think selling and buying the mount devalues it. Sad but true.
sephirah Jul 15th 2008 6:34PM
Everytime I see someone on a bearmount, I don't care at all.
But probably because everytime I see someone driving a Ferrari, I don't care at all.
Rugus Jul 15th 2008 7:34PM
I remember the first time I saw a Nether drake mount: it was when I first entered Outland time ago. I loved it, as it really gave me a "wow!" feeling. I started searching on Wow Wiki and I said to myself "damn too hard, I'll bever get one". Now I have one and I loved the way I had to spend some time and dedication. It's a game and you have to feel "fun". Buying a Bear is nice if Wow is the center of your life, I guess.
PeeWee Jul 15th 2008 8:34PM
sephirah:
That's cause Ferrari is so 1995. Koenigsegg CCX, there's a car for a man with bigger wallet than brains of today.
http://www.automotoportal.com/media/images/vijesti/060711010.10.jpg
Taco Jul 15th 2008 7:37PM
It's silly to say that ppl who purchases things do not earn it. Where do you think they got their gold from (unless they purchased it of course)? It would take 20 days or so to accumulate 5k gold via dailies, so in essence you are working for it. If you are like me who are only in t4s and unlikely to see t6 before wotlk then this is the only option. Some people suggests moving guilds but the majority of guilds have now progressed further than t5 and will not want a t4 on their run. Buying my bear mount next week!