Posts with tag raf

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In the WoWSource interview published today, Production Director J Allen Brack, Game Producer Tom Chilton and Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas talk about the new Refer-A-Friend system. They talk about the current system, how it works with the battle.net site, and how that's going to change. The key points of the new system are as follows:

• Completely in-game, no web involvement
• Reward is a token
• Token can be exchanged for new mounts, new pets, existing mounts, or existing pets
• It seems like you might be able to get the Zhevra or the X-53 Touring Rocket, as legacy items

For me, this is a fantastic change. The current system is incredibly tricky to use, and if you don't do it just right, accounts aren't linked, and don't get the bonuses. What's more, there's little incentive to refer more friends if you have the current mount already. Sure there are grantable levels, and the 300% XP, but the new system's offering more mounts and pets is a great idea. I really like the token system, and the flexibility it offers!

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I don't have a current RAF mount waiting to be claimed, so I wouldn't have gotten an email about it, but several players are reporting that they have. And apparently, this is the new mount for Refer-A-Friend, the Heart of the Nightwing. Similar to the Vial of the Sands, it apparently teaches you to transform into a winged panther mount (not dissimilar to the Winged Guardian) that another player can ride. I have to admit, with the cost of a complete account now at $30, I'm pretty tempted to buy another and get myself a new mount.

How about you? Tempted? Or do you prefer the X-53 Touring Rocket? Personally, I really like the cat.

Blizzard also sent out an email last night reminding players that they need to claim their X-53 Rocket now, or they'll lose the chance at getting the (soon to be) old RAF mount. Players have to claim the mount before July 17. Theoretically, if you don't claim the X-53 before then, you'll be able to get the new Obsidian Nightwing instead.

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.

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If you've ever wanted to get your hands on Recruit-A-Friend mount #2, the X-53 Touring Rocket two-seater, then you had better get moving. Blizzard has announced that the X-53 rocket will be retired soon to make way for the new Recruit-A-Friend mount and (presumably) program for the launch of Mists of Pandaria. One might even take this as a clue that a new Recruit-A-Friend is coming soon, which means expansion time could be right around the corner.

As for what the new mount is going to be, we have no idea just yet. However, MMO-Champion and Wowhead have datamined achievements, items, mounts, and some other clues that have shown a Recruit-A-Friend 3 mount in the files but no associated mount yet. Hit the jump for the full announcement about the X-53 rocket and speculate about what the next RAF mount is going to be.

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

A recent discussion in The Queue brought up the idea that perhaps WoW's Recruit-A-Friend could have been done differently. The point of RAF's bonus XP is to help you friend get to the max level as fast as possible to play with you. This is essentially so that they can experience endgame content, as opposed to leveling content. Unfortunately, WoW as an RPG relies on story for raids to be meaningful as anything other than a loot grind. Players who level too quickly may miss out on lore. In addition, quick leveling also means less time learning character skills needed to raid, and we've all seen the guy who bought a level 85 warrior but still didn't know how to taunt.

But what if leveling speed isn't RAF's problem? What if the problem is the concept of levels themselves? If you want to play Mario Kart with a friend, you just jump in. Skill becomes the only barrier, and fun gameplay mechanics take over the grind. It also makes it a lot easier to close the gap between you and your friend in a fun way. The same goes for most FPS, RTS and fighter games ... Only RPGs put this artificial barrier in place.

However, removing level would affect other areas of gameplay. Quests could be lore- and appearance-centric, rather than grind- and gear-centric. Since all players are at the same level, queues for instanced content would go down and it would be easier to get bodies for raids. The rest of the game world would also be easier to expand and utilize, since developers wouldn't need to worry about sheltering level 15s against level 80s. It would, though, make alts more common, which may be problematic in gear acquisition for people's mains for those who raid.

Would you play a WoW without levels, or is there something about levels that is still needed?

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Yet another frabjous day for those of you who are planning to get your goblin or worgen to level 85 as fast as a bullet train with a rocket strapped to the back and a wormhole generator up front. "That's very fast," you might be saying. Well, so will your goblin or worgen, once he gets hold of all that sweet, sweet Recruit-A-Friend candy. Calloo and callay both, man.

Lylirra - Will RAF work with worgen/goblins?

New goblin and worgen characters will indeed be eligible for Recruit-A-Friend benefits including increased experience gain and grantable levels. As we've no current plans to modify the Recruit-A-Friend program at this time or increase the level range for which the benefits apply, goblin and worgen characters (as with all other characters) will only be able to receive the in-game bonuses up to level 60.

source

This excites me because I'm trying to lure back a few old friends for Cataclysm, and I'm pretty sure some RAF action could smooth that process along. Lylirra points out that this is all contingent on said goblins or worgen qualifying for the process, that there's no plan to advance the benefits past level 60, and that there will be no realm-first goblin or worgen (or indeed any race) to 85 achievements any longer. So level your worgen friends with alacrity, as fast as Running Wild after a sugar rush.

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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.

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Zarhym has just posted to let us all know that the previously announced X-53 Touring Rocket, the only 2-seated flying mount currently available in game, will be claimable by qualifying Refer-A-Friend accounts starting tomorrow, Tuesday April 27. With this, the Zhevra mount will be retired, so if you want it, be sure to grab it tonight.

The full announcement text is behind the cut.

New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. Visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's.

Your evil plan has come to fruition: your significant other, best buddy, school pal or co-worker has finally confessed an interest in playing World of Warcraft. Send your buddy a Recruit-A-Friend invitation, and let the bodies hit the floor. You're about to cut a mean swath through Azeroth while enjoying some sweet side benefits:

• 300% XP bonus for both you and your recruit (when grouped)
• 10% reputation bonus for you and your recruit
• The ability to summon one another to each other's locations across the world
• 30 levels of "free" XP from your recruit, granted to any of your lower-level veteran characters
• A free month of game time for every recruit who upgrades to a retail account
• The ever-so-sweet, exclusive Zhevra mount for one of your characters, once your recruit pays for 60 days' worth of game time

We can't believe it either – Turpster has been let loose on WoW.com to bring you videos from in and around the World of Warcraft! You've heard him on the WoW Insider Show, and now see him on TurpsterVision right here on WoW.com.

Last week we had a look into the benefits of Blizzard's Recruit a Friend scheme and Multiboxing; today we look at how to get started with Multiboxing at home with one PC and several WoW accounts. For me to share these secrets of success with you I must first ask you to join me in the Multiboxer's oath:


For the real tips and hints, check out the video and then join me after the break for the software, addons and macros that you'll need. (WARNING: There are some really big numbers and long words that I don't fully understand but they make lots of characters do similar things at the same time)

We can't believe it either – Turpster has been let loose on WoW.com to bring you videos from in and around the World of Warcraft! You've heard him on the WoW Insider Show, and now see him on TurpsterVision right here on WoW.com.

Multiboxing has long been at the center of a heated debate within the WoW community. Some say that it is cheating; others say that it is just against the spirit of the game, all I know is, I absolutely love it!

I started my journey nearly 90 days ago where I added three new accounts with Blizzard's 'Recruit a Friend' scheme. I set myself the goal of being able to have a level 60(+) of every class in the game. For some of you out there I am sure that you've already achieved this feat during the past 4 and a half years of Warcraft – I know of one person who has gone FAR further than just one of each class. I've always focused all of my attention on my main, gathering achievements, pets, mounts, mats, gold, gear, well you get the picture – and I ended up forgetting the joys of alts. So with too much time on my hands, a few extra copies of WoW and some cool bits of software (more on this below) I jumped into Azeroth with a new mission; to destroy everything!

Before I wrote six. Now I'm writing seven. And if you got the picture on six, you'll probably understand why Kara Thrace is the featured image for this article where I answer seven of your questions. And if you don't understand what I'm talking about, just know that my girlfriend bears a resemblance to Katie Sackhoff (beyond sharing the same first name), and that's worthy of a Queue introduction right there.

And mark my words, she is somehow related to the seventh Cylon. Starbuck, not my girlfriend (although...).

Nakabeast asked...

"Heirlooms and similar items are listed as "Bind on Account." Now wouldn't this make more sense if these BoA items actually did what their tooltip lists, and let us trade these throughout entire accounts, not just one server? I'd love for my Death Knight on my friend's server to have Murky and the Big Blizzard Bear."

Tipster vpr pointed our way to the forums where Blizzard poster Orlyla acknowledges the issue about Patch 3.0.2 removing the levels that could be granted from the Recruit-a-Friend program and says that the issue is being addressed by today's maintenance. It's a reassuring and appropriate response to the issue which makes up for Game Master Issuntril's initial unsympathetic "sorry for the inconvenience" remark.

As many of you readers pointed out in a related post, Blizzard could open themselves up to a potential class action lawsuit if the levels aren't restored. The free levels gained are part of the appeal of the Recruit-a-Friend program or product, and is one that I suspect really gets a lot of conversions. Of course, Orlyla is keeping his (or her... you never know with these Blizzard people...) fingers crossed, too, saying that the levels should be working fine once the servers are back up "if all goes well". As Dan pointed out a couple of times, all has not been going well in Azeroth lately.

I'm hoping to see this issue fixed, and even though some of you guys have expressed disapproval of the free levels feature, I personally think it's a great and much-needed way to reach the endgame quickly. I already have several 70s, I seriously don't want to go through the pain of leveling through the same zones all over again. Some people might enjoy that, but I don't. I just wish I actually had friends to recruit -- pretty much all of them already play the game!

The new Recruit-A-Friend program has taken the World of Warcraft community by storm, perhaps more so in the dual- and multi-boxing circles. I'll admit that while I advocate enjoying the leveling process and experiencing the lore through quests and in-game events, once you've hit 70 a couple of times, the magic tends to wane. With the coming of Wrath of the Lich King, we've had some time to re-evaluate our WoW experience. For many of us, finishing up some alts has become a way to prepare for the expansion. I've had a number of alts since I started playing, but have only managed to ding two paladins and a rogue. Each time I play in a battleground I see a member of another class do something crazy cool and ponder rolling whatever class it is.

With the RAF program in full effect, I decided that dual-boxing with the 300% XP and Summon Friend ability would be the most efficient way to get my alts Wrath-ready. This How-To is specifically for players using Macs, but in essence many of the principles remain true for PC users.

Belfaire already explained previously that Blizzard's okay with the idea of multi-boxing, whether it's for PvE use or even to compete in the Arena. In the same Eurogamer interview that discusses the new phasing technology, Tom Chilton reinforces that Blizzard is "content to endorse multi-boxing to some reasonable degree."

Eurogamer was focused on the possible abuses of Blizzard's Recruit-a-Friend program, and the speed with which players can create and level new accounts. Chilton says that if someone wants to drop the bucks on a new account -- not only the retail fees, but also the subscription cost -- then Blizzard's okay with that.

J. Allen Brack immediately brings the discussion back to a point I've previously made -- the idea is really to help players get ready for the new expansion. You can bring in a friend or family, and get them to a level where they can play with other friends very quickly. They want new players to be able to "roll a Death Knight and be ready to go."

Now, Chilton did say the endorsement only goes to a "reasonable degree." I suspect if we see vast abuse of multi-boxing in multiple areas of play, the endorsement might quickly be repealed or re-focused. But, for now at least, Chilton has confirmed Belfaire's statement -- Blizzard's okay with multi-boxing.

Lore Sjöberg at Wired's Alt Text talked yesterday about the Zhevra mount you get as part of the Recruit-a-Friend program. It's a pretty fun read. He talks about the myriad of vanity items, and how these items can be such a motivator for WoW players, even though they don't really affect your gameplay at all.

I do want to add a point to his article, though. The new Recruit-a-Friend benefit isn't just the Zhevra. For me, the ability to gain triple-XP is the huge motivator. I'm involved in a Guild that's doing it's best to truck through Zul'Aman content. I can't wait to get a good friend of mine involved in the fun, but getting from 0 to 70 is going to take a while.

Even with the speed levelling records out there, going from zip to end-game isn't going to happen overnight. So, while my friend will be starting after Labor Day weekend, there's a little bit of delay before she's rocking out to left-handed Nalorakk. The triple-XP bonus -- and the ability to teleport me to her when she needs help -- overcomes the big hurdle to getting a friend started.

This is the real power of the new Recruit-a-Friend benefit, in my opinion. The Zhevra's cool and all, but the XP bonus and teleportation feature makes getting my friend involved three times faster. The benefit doesn't just reward getting friends involved, it empowers us to get our friends involved.