Outsource your WoW skills… but why?

It came to our attention that a new breed of outsourcing companies for World of Warcraft are sprouting left and right these days. We don’t mean the game per se as everybody already knows that by now. Known as power-leveling companies, these “game consultants” take over players’ accounts for a fee and take their characters where they want to be.

But where is “where” exactly? Why, at the top of the heap of course! According to some estimates, it would take a player 768 hours to reach level 70 of The Burning Crusade from scratch. If ever you’ve attained level 60 in the original WoW, the report mentioned that you will still need another 384 hours to get to the top level.

Now, the first service (from start to level 70) will cost players US$ 556 and the jump from level 60 to 70 is another US$ 239. The figures here are rather surprising, we know, but some players indeed go that far. If you’re wondering what this practice implies, Blizzard Entertainment sent out an email last Monday regarding the matter.

Making use of a power-leveling service is a violation of our account-sharing policy. This policy is discussed in World of Warcraft‘s terms of use, which players agree to prior to playing.

It was reported as well that these power-leveling companies also have clients for other MMO titles such as EverQuest II. And like the former publisher, Sony Online Entertainment isn’t too happy about the situation. EQ II‘s Head of Public Relations Courtney Simmons sent out a similar email.

Sony Online is aware that it happens, and we do not condone it. It is against our terms of service. You can not give anyone else access to your account. Players are responsible for the security of their own accounts. And players that use those types of services are at risk of having their accounts stolen or compromised.

Technically speaking, this can be viewed as having a skilled friend play for you. That’s your account, you paid for it, and you can do with it whatever you want to do. But then again, don’t expect to enjoy the game as much as those who worked their arse off to get to the highest level.

And lastly,and we’re betting our lives on this, no other player will respect you if they ever found out that you paid for your level 70 character.

It came to our attention that a new breed of outsourcing companies for World of Warcraft are sprouting left and right these days. We don’t mean the game per se as everybody already knows that by now. Known as power-leveling companies, these “game consultants” take over players’ accounts for a fee and take their characters where they want to be.

But where is “where” exactly? Why, at the top of the heap of course! According to some estimates, it would take a player 768 hours to reach level 70 of The Burning Crusade from scratch. If ever you’ve attained level 60 in the original WoW, the report mentioned that you will still need another 384 hours to get to the top level.

Now, the first service (from start to level 70) will cost players US$ 556 and the jump from level 60 to 70 is another US$ 239. The figures here are rather surprising, we know, but some players indeed go that far. If you’re wondering what this practice implies, Blizzard Entertainment sent out an email last Monday regarding the matter.

Making use of a power-leveling service is a violation of our account-sharing policy. This policy is discussed in World of Warcraft‘s terms of use, which players agree to prior to playing.

It was reported as well that these power-leveling companies also have clients for other MMO titles such as EverQuest II. And like the former publisher, Sony Online Entertainment isn’t too happy about the situation. EQ II‘s Head of Public Relations Courtney Simmons sent out a similar email.

Sony Online is aware that it happens, and we do not condone it. It is against our terms of service. You can not give anyone else access to your account. Players are responsible for the security of their own accounts. And players that use those types of services are at risk of having their accounts stolen or compromised.

Technically speaking, this can be viewed as having a skilled friend play for you. That’s your account, you paid for it, and you can do with it whatever you want to do. But then again, don’t expect to enjoy the game as much as those who worked their arse off to get to the highest level.

And lastly,and we’re betting our lives on this, no other player will respect you if they ever found out that you paid for your level 70 character.