Today's patch lays the groundwork for the introduction of Tokens over the course of the coming weeks

Mar 24, 2015 14:41 GMT  ·  By
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor adds a ton of content to the game
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   World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor adds a ton of content to the game

Blizzard Entertainment is introducing Tokens to its massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft soon, and the developer has offered more details on the feature.

The Tokens will be similar to the PLEX in EVE Online, enabling users to extend their play time using in-game currency, rather than be forced to pay real money for game time.

The change is a pretty big one, and although many players were already trading their excess gold for extra game time, it's certainly nice to have an official channel to use for this.

World of Warcraft Tokens will allow players to securely exchange in-game gold for game time, and are set to be introduced to the MMORPG at a later date.

Today, the game got an update paving the way to the introduction of Tokens, and the post on the Battle.net blog heralds its coming.

Players will be able to purchase a WoW Token through the in-game shop using real currency, and then sell it on any of the available Auction Houses around Azeroth for gold, at their current market price.

Whenever a players purchases a WoW Token from the Auction House, the Token becomes Soulbound, which means that players won't be able to trade it anymore, and they will then be able to redeem it for 30 days of game time.

Patch 6.1.2 added the framework needed for the Wow Token to be introduced, but for the time being, there is no word on its release date, aside from sometime in the following weeks.

The Tokens enable an official gold trading channel

The Token is currently in testing on the PTR, and Blizzard has posted a more in-depth look at how it works and the various limitations that will be enforced on the item.

The Token will be sold for $20 or the equivalent in local currency, with the starting price designed to fluctuate. The price point has been a sensitive subject that Blizzard has given a lot of thought to.

As such, the starting gold value in each region will be based on several factors, including regional in-game economies, with the goal being for the Token to be available at a fair and reasonable starting price.

After its introduction, its gold value will be determined dynamically, based primarily on the supply and demand on the local market.

The introduction of Token will enable users to trade their excess gold for game time, essentially removing the need to pay the monthly subscription for those who have enough time and are engaged enough to farm and gather the necessary in-game currency.

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