Summary
World of Warcraftjust set a dangerous precedent by putting Ash’adar, Harbinger of Dawn, the first free reward from the Trading Post, in the cash shop for a limited time. This has ledWorld of Warcraftfans to fear the Trading Post is transforming into a FOMO nightmare due to monetization and exclusivity.
TheTrading Post is aWorld of Warcraftfeature introduced early last yearthat gives players a list of monthly tasks they can complete to obtain currency used to purchase cosmetics from a rotating catalog. If they complete enough tasks each period, they also earn a free reward, such as Ash’adar, Harbinger of Dawn, a color-changing cat mount that was given away during its inaugural month.
Recently,World of Warcraftmade Ash’adar available again for the first time since February 2023 – but not in the way many players were hoping. From now through April 1, fans can pick up Ash’adar in the in-game store for a whopping $25, after which it will leave the cash shop indefinitely. This has players worried that free Trading Post rewards will only return as limited-time cash shop deals from now on, transforming the previously free cosmetics into exclusive, monetized incentives.
Former Trading Post Rewards on the WoW Cash Shop
Items from the Trading Post catalogs have already begun returning in later months, but Ash’adar is the first time players have seen a free reward made available again after the fact. Many fans were hopingWorld of Warcraftwould make these prestige items available via future Trading Postcatalogs or through other means, but Ash’adar’s time-limited cash shop run suggests a more problematic solution.
World of Warcrafthas a bad history with FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out. This phenomenon is often abused by live service games to incentivize fans to play the game in certain ways or make additional purchases to obtain exclusive cosmetics or other items. While it has gotten better at avoiding FOMO with somerecentWoWPrime Gaming rewardsand Twitch drops, Ash’adar returning as another time-limited cash shop item doubles down on the troubling trend, which has landed poorly with many fans.
It is possible that Ash’adar or the otherfree Trading Post rewards in World of Warcraftcould return in other ways in the future. For now, however, it seems likeWoWplayers who didn’t get these items while they were free might have to keep an eye on the cash shop, lest they miss out once again.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
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World of Warcraft: Dragonflight was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the ninth expansion pack for the iconic massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.Dragonflight features an overhauled user interface, raises the level cap to 70, and introduces a new race and class.
