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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsNo current plans to let you spend Achievement Points
by Amanda Miller 
Mar 12th 2009 at 1:00PM
Every now and then, I hear through the grapevine that in the future, we will be able to spend our Achievement Points on, most likely, novelty items. This rumor has been around since Achievements were announced, and has even been mentioned by a blue or two. Unfortunately, it seems that implementing this is far from being in the works. Bornakk has confirmed that Achievement Points are "simply a marker of progression in the game" and that there are no current plans to work in a way to spend them.
How do you feel about this? Personally, I was hoping for the eventual vendor selling items like walking canes, pinwheel hats and walking-speed pogo sticks. Still, not being able to spend my points will not stop me from collecting them!
Filed under: RP, Rumors, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
dreadpiraterose Mar 12th 2009 2:50PM
I think there are already a lot of novelties associated with achievements, whether it be a title or a mount or what have you. So while I don't think it's necessary to implement a way to exchange achievement points for additional items, it might be fun/cool/interesting. Basically, I wouldn't be upset if they didn't or if they did.
Morri Mar 12th 2009 2:52PM
I'd like to see something in the future we could spend the points on. Vanity pets, rare clothing item, stuff like that.
DavidC Mar 12th 2009 2:53PM
"Spending" achievement points seems kind of back-asswards wouldn't you say?
The whole idea of these points is to have more of them then the next guy. If you were to reduce your points cause you spent some of that, your defeating the purpose.
I would say the best way to do something like this is with ... wait .... wait for it ... drum roll please ... more achievements.
Meta Achievements based upon Achievement points. The engine is already there for it, so that would not be hard.
As far as "choice" is concerned, I guess they could do a token system where you could trade the tokens in for different things.
So, when you gain an the Achievement Meta, you get in the mail a token, which can be redeemed at a vendor for trivial items.
Reality? Most achievements are what you do when your bored, and hence, Blizzard is probably not going to spend any measurable time to speak of in the near future for rewarding you for being bored ... they are trying to work up new content to keep you from getting bored.
Or, they could stop working on new content (too keep you from getting bored) and work on this idea (and perpetuate you being bored).
I vote for new content personally :-)
Gimmlette Mar 12th 2009 2:53PM
As the person in my guild with the most achievement points, I don't want to "use" them to get stuff, even nifty "stuff", like mounts or tabards or vanity pets that could, in theory, count toward other achievements. I like my large-ish number and have 3 achievement on which I am actively working. And I like to see my large-ish number get larger.
But, as many have posted, to get something for a certain amount of points would be great. As a pack rat, I like the bag idea. (No! I am never getting rid of Nightbane's Urn. I worked very hard to get that and I'm not getting rid of it.) Or a pogo-stick. Or being able to use those kick-ass goggle engineers can make. Or extra rep with a particular faction for x number of hours. There are lots of things that could be granted with a certain number of achievement points. "Gimmlette", the Overachiever, I'd welcome too, since that's what the guild calls me already.
PooponGod Mar 12th 2009 3:03PM
AP's are purely trash and a waste of time. It is a video gamers way of saying my dick is bigger than yours.
Angry Joe Mar 12th 2009 3:07PM
Like oil?
shisho2k Mar 12th 2009 3:48PM
Well weren't glyphs supposed to be for "novelty"? Now most of them are outright requirements to plug in and add no fun customization. So I get a sketchy feeling of how something like that would be implemented.
They couldn't resist the temptation of making incredibly enticing items that forced people into another grindfest and play more hours of their game.
I'm sure if that occurs to one of them at some point a more robust reward system for it will pop up in some form or another.
However, wouldn't spending your actual points deflate your e-peen score?!
Badbart Mar 12th 2009 3:28PM
I think if you have 4000 achievement points you should get a "High Score" achievement that rewards 4000 more points. "The only thing better than bacon is more bacon"
And they should add your name to the credits like subspace's 500 hour club.
Verit Mar 12th 2009 3:44PM
Achievements are useless. All they show is who has the best ability to convince others to join in your insanity.
greggory90 Mar 12th 2009 3:52PM
Although Blizzard changes decisions all the time; at BlizzCon 2008, one of the panels states that Achievement Points will never never NEVER, be a currency. The achievements in-and-of themselves provide rewards.
Rexton Mar 12th 2009 4:05PM
While there are certainly a large amount of points to go around and even more to come, eventually, you'll run out of points. An award system would be better, as in Every thousand points or something. But then again, they kind of already do that with certain achievements (mounts, titles, ect.). I just don't like the idea of spending points that we would have no way of getting back.
Anunub (Scarlet Crusade - Alliance) Mar 12th 2009 4:04PM
I've actually heard multiple ways this could potentially be implemented.
I for one was always hoping for a method of character customization with the 'spending' of Achievement Points. Firstly, they'd never be spent, only be allocated towards something, this could then of course be dropped and those points could then be used for something else as the player saw fit.
Items would include things like different spell animations, cosmetic auras, titles, toys, etc...
Though another cool concept I heard once was tying Achievement Points directly into the 'player housing' system. As you gain points they could be used to buy bigger homes, decor, holiday decor, portals in the back, mailbox, storage, etc...
The coolest one however I've heard was kind of a way to multi-class. This wouldn't include like mages wearing plate or anything, but merely a way for classes to pick up useful spells and the like from other classes. So I could maybe learn how to soul stone our healer, or resurrect while out of combat, move faster while in ghost form, or gain a form of crusader aura, slow fall, levitate, maybe the Human's 10% rep bonus, etc... This would obviously have to be done very carefully so as to not break the game, however it could be fun.
But my most favorite of these would have to be a combination of them all... maybe provide two vendors, one will let you permanently spend all your points on way cool stuff (maybe letting you unlearn them but not getting the points back till 30 days after) and another vendor that lets you allocate your full points (even if they're all spent at the permanent vendor), for the fun cosmetic stuffs.
Either way though, I want a way to spend my 4500 Achievement points on something cool. : )
Anunub (Scarlet Crusade - Alliance) Mar 12th 2009 4:07PM
And another idea I had while going over the comments...
4000+ - Bronze Dragon around your portrait
5000+ - Silver Dragon around your portrait
6000+ - Gold Dragon around your portrait
(These numbers would obviously go up over time as the number of Achievement's went up.)
Each could come with its own mount, title, pet, tabard, what-have-you.
SaintStryfe Mar 12th 2009 4:07PM
I'd love a Vendor who, with certain point totals will let you "Buy" items, like an Arena Vendor, with small amounts of gold. All items would be cosmetic, and would be BoA.
I also had an idea: bring back old PVP titles for Titles! 1000 for Private/Grunt, 1500 Scout, ect ect.
Also, unrelated to point totals, I had the idea a long time ago for a tabard gift for a PVP achievement inolving kills of the opposing faction: Tattered Tabard of the Horde/Alliance. Looks like the knights/stone guard tabard, but damaged.
Hoggersbud Mar 12th 2009 4:16PM
I want an achievement for slapping people who ask about spending their damn points.
Preferably with a title, mount, or tabard to go with it.
NotTheMatrix Mar 12th 2009 4:42PM
There should be one achievement to trump all other achievements: the achievement for doing no other achievements. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to have zero achievement points at level 80?
At the risk of sounding overly cynical, the achievement system is nothing more than Blizz-induced busy work. It gets players to fill their time on silly stuff while waiting for new content. I was doing my own achievements before the system was ever put in place. If I wanted to swim around the entire circumference of Azeroth, then I just did it. I didn't need a system to encourage me to do that or validate non-mainstream activities.
Pursuing achievements is a personal choice, and my rant is not pointed at those who choose to do them--more power to you. Just realize that you have been assimilated by Blizzard's marketing moguls into continuing the $15 monthly subsidy while you pursue the purist notion of "game completion". It's really quite a brilliant tactic on their part to maintain interest in the game while awaiting new content. The real question is whether deployment of new content will be slowed (and development costs reduced) because there's enough to "keep the masses busy".
And now, with apologies to Agent Smith, I need to help my landlady take out the garbage.
SaintStryfe Mar 12th 2009 4:53PM
Dime store words saying nothing. I do achievements because goddamn it they're fun. I like going and seeing Molten Core, I liked scouring Kalimdor for Loremaster, and I love having a tangible reason to have people join me in doing this.
thinice Mar 12th 2009 8:40PM
Well, I dunno if this has been said but I've found a good solution:
The reward for getting achievement points, should be in fact, more achievement points.
Ice Princess Mar 12th 2009 8:46PM
Ugh! I've been earning achievement points for nothing?!
I really do hope I get something out of all the efforts I put in.
I think we shouldn't buy vanity things with our points. So what's gonna happen once we spend it? Our points will get lower? Nah nah nah I think we get to keep our current points but it'll just reward us with stuff.
I dunno, I hope they work something out soon!
zanieblyar Mar 13th 2009 1:26AM
I never expected them to let us buy anything with the points.