Jump to content
FORUMS
Stan

Player Used 600 Million WoW Gold to Purchase $50K Worth of WoW Tokens for Diablo Immortal Purchases

Recommended Posts

3ga5vvJ.jpg

A player spent a whopping 600 million WoW gold to buy nearly $50,000 worth of WoW Tokens for Diablo Immortal purchases (gem upgrades).

On June 22, 2022, Naecabon finished their project and used 600,000 gold in World of Warcraft to buy 3,242 WoW tokens worth nearly $50,000 ($15 per token). The whole process took 3 weeks because there's a cap on the number of WoW tokens you can buy each day.

The player had a ton of leftover TCG cards that Blizzard gave out at BlizzCon events and also bought more codes from people at BlizzCon who were looking to make a quick buck back then.

Naecabon spent the month of May flipping the TCG cards for in-game gold and ended up with about 600 million. The gold was converted to about $50,000 Blizzard Balance and used for upgrading gems in Diablo Immortal

Naecabon reached 7,000 Resonance and ran 2,165 Elder Rifts in Diablo Immortal.

Here's Naecabon's reply taken from Reddit.

Yesterday, on June 22nd, 2022, I finished my project of using just over 600,000,000 gold in World of Warcraft on purchasing WoW Tokens for Blizzard Balance, to use in Diablo Immortal for upgrading my gems. I managed to hit 7000 Resonance and unlock my 4 out of 5 resonating bonuses.

resonance.png

I made a post a while ago about how ridiculous and over-costed the final 5 out of 5 resonating bonuses are, and they actually made them even worse on launch by cutting the resonating power on the boards in half from beta, so my decision to stop here was quite easy.

WoW Tokens can be purchased in WoW off the Auction House for gold and can be turned into $15 Blizzard Balance per purchase. The process looks something like this.

buy_token.png

I had a bunch of leftover loot cards from years ago when Blizzard gave them out at BlizzCon events. I was one of those guys on the floor with a wad of 20s or 100s grabbing codes on the spot that people didn't really want for themselves and preferred the quick buck. Over the years, trying to sell them was near impossible as you get scammed on digital sales so frequently. They ended up sitting in a drawer collecting dust for ages.

When I saw Diablo Immortal was coming to PC, I realized WoW Token balance would be usable in game for the shop purchases.

I thought it would be really funny to try and build a "whale" character in the game using WoW Gold as the primary funding source. There's a sense of hilarity to me in dunking on a cash whale as a "gold whale."

I spent the month of May flipping some old codes for Spectral Tigers and what have you in game for gold using Discord Markets. It's all entirely legal within the WoW TOS, so no harm no foul. I never used RMT (real-money transactions) in any way when it came to the gold, and I had no interest in trying to sell any of the gold for USD (as it's very difficult to do and it's quite easy to get banned).

The project went well, and I managed to finish this at just a little under $50K total investment via WoW Gold. My character is now a proverbial powerhouse that dunks on cash streamers like jtisallbusiness (a self-declared $100K cash whale that streams on twitch) with scary efficiency.

There's no real point to this other than to get the laugh out of it. When you see me battling cash whales in Battlegrounds, know that I'm engaging them using World of Warcraft currency as my main funding source. If I need to swipe some day to stay relevant, I'll cross that bridge and consider my options when the day comes.

For now, I'll keep fighting the good fight.

Cash whales, I'm coming for you. I am Naecabon on Prime Evils.

Final Numbers:

6,497 total runes currently in my bags. That's 2165 Elder Rifts I ran myself since launch.

runes.png

2165 Elder Rifts is about $48,648 spent.

That's 3,243 WoW Tokens.

You're throttled daily and can't redeem them all right away, that's the only reason it took me three weeks.

It's much cheaper to run the rifts yourself than to spam buy off the Marketplace, you just have to put in the manual work in running the rifts.

That's all I got.

Until next time!

PS. Before I get the usual influx of DMs about this (lol you guys are stalkers), yes... I am the No Mans Sky guy.? Still kicking!

SYNDICATE RULES!

PPS. I did actually manage to cause this to happen once! Hahaha, WoW players I am so so sorry XD

no tokens.png

Furthermore, the player also explained why they didn't resort to selling TGC for real money.

Also, I need to stress that I understand that one can view gold as a "currency" with real cash value.

Let me stress that selling WoW gold is a lot harder than you think. Ever since WoW Tokens became a thing, most players prefer to just buy it in game that way than risk their account over purchasing from third parties. It's also incredibly easy to get banned trying to sell gold yourself. It just isn't worth it.

If you try selling loot codes on eBay, you can get scammed very very easily. These are not unscratched loot code cards from the original WoW TCG; these were exclusive to BlizzCon events and given out by Blizzard directly. They look like this.

tgc.jpeg

Selling these is nigh impossible. I did manage to get them cheap, but trust me - after losing cases on 90% of them to scammers (they've perfected the method), they're as good as useless from a USD perspective. Trading them for WoW Gold was about my only option.

Naecabon has been playing Diablo Immortal nonstop since it launched and it took 3 weeks to start the character and finish with 7,000 Resonance.

It took the 3 weeks to start the character and finish the 7000 resonance. I've been playing nonstop since it launched. It took about the entirety of May to swap the codes in various marketplaces for gold; I went to work on that the second I heard about the PC port in late April.

Getting 600M Gold in current Retail WoW is probably literally impossible as an individual. It was somewhat possible when Boosting was still a major resource, but Blizzard has since outlawed it and made large sums of gold harder to come by. It's the equivalent of asking someone how long it would take a F2P to get maxed out five star gems in Diablo Immortal; theoretically possible, sure... but in practice? It's not gonna happen.

Back then I would go to events with a few Gs in my pocket, and do the usual wheel and dealing on the floor. The people selling me these codes didn't really give two shits about them, they'd walk up to a raffle line and win a prize and walk away with it, and then see me haggling and say hey give me cash for this and I'd say sure here ya go! So you'd scoop em up fairly cheap. But cheap back then is laughable now when you consider that loot cards have skyrocketed anywhere from 300 to 800% in the last five to six years. The supply and demand has been absolutely nutty with them.

Mad respect to Naecabon!

Source: Reddit

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, Prophet001 said:

I wonder if people understand that Blizzard gets $20.00 for every token transaction.

So? What's your point?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, Prophet001 said:

You'll figure it out.

There is nothing to figure out, your comment doesn't contribute to the topic at all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, Lith said:

There is nothing to figure out, your comment doesn't contribute to the topic at all.

Prophet is stating that while the OP is a gold whale, Blizzard still made that $50k in cash, since someone else paid money for the token. So whilst OP's point stands, that's (s)he's not put a cent into the game directly, they've still made ActiBlizz $50k for Diablo Immoral. Though since the token is paid for as $20 for $15 back, AB actually made MORE money this way than if OP had just bought it normally, an extra $16.6k I believe, easy money.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, Bobbis said:

Prophet is stating that while the OP is a gold whale, Blizzard still made that $50k in cash, since someone else paid money for the token. So whilst OP's point stands, that's (s)he's not put a cent into the game directly, they've still made ActiBlizz $50k for Diablo Immoral. Though since the token is paid for as $20 for $15 back, AB actually made MORE money this way than if OP had just bought it normally, an extra $16.6k I believe, easy money.

I know exatly what he was thinking no need for the explanation, I still think it doesn't contribute the topic, also it's not even completely right. Some1 already paid for the tokens, wheter some1 buys it or not doesnt change a thing. If OP bought it normally it would be 50k extra over the cost of the tokens. 

Edited by Lith

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Dejo93 said:

I am not sure whether to be impressed or terrified with what this guy did

I too am imprerrified.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, Lith said:

I know exatly what he was thinking no need for the explanation, I still think it doesn't contribute the topic, also it's not even completely right. Some1 already paid for the tokens, wheter some1 buys it or not doesnt change a thing. If OP bought it normally it would be 50k extra over the cost of the tokens. 

The purchase of a token with gold does in no way make any money to blizzard, they have the freedom to adjust prices with demand/ingame inflation and their system of doing so isn't public. However, I think you can only buy tokens with gold if someone else paid for it with money, which means that the only money it could make blizzard is if this act of bulk buying blizzard currency increased demand for buying gold with REAL money.

There are multiple strategies to increase demand, through marketing (which wasn't involved here), or price change. So unless this caused buyers of gold to receive more gold for the same 20 dollars, blizzard made nothing from his currency changes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is fringe crazy stuff that just happens. People are bored to hell in WoW and any crazy stunt possible, will be made somehow. Sure at first sight no harm was done here. He flooded that server with gold, but this gold would have been made nonetheless, just sometime later. I dont see how this has hurt anyone.

Why putting so much gold into the predatory abomination called Diablo Immoral is another case, but that wasnt the topic.

Edited by Helvorn
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, Andser said:

The purchase of a token with gold does in no way make any money to blizzard, they have the freedom to adjust prices with demand/ingame inflation and their system of doing so isn't public. However, I think you can only buy tokens with gold if someone else paid for it with money, which means that the only money it could make blizzard is if this act of bulk buying blizzard currency increased demand for buying gold with REAL money.

There are multiple strategies to increase demand, through marketing (which wasn't involved here), or price change. So unless this caused buyers of gold to receive more gold for the same 20 dollars, blizzard made nothing from his currency changes.

I think we are talkign about the same thing, idk why you quoted me tbh.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The more tokens get bought for gold, the more Blizz raises the gold price of tokens. Which, in turn, incentivizes those who pay $ to buy more tokens to sell for gold.

Things like this player’s mass purchasing of tokens raise the gold cost of tokens, and lead to an increase the total tokens sold to $ buyers. More profit for Blizz, more expensive tokens for the rest of us.

Edited by Trest
clarification of ambiguous “this”

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • By Starym
      The giant class tuning pass has arrived, as today's hotfixes feature all the PvE and PvP changes, as well as a Trading Post item price reduction!

      You can also check out today's Season of Discovery hotfixes here.
      December 5 (Source)
      Classes
      Death Knight Blood Aberrus Class Set bonus: Heart Strike and Blood Boil deal 10% increased damage (was 20%) and have a 5% chance (was 10%) to grant Vampiric Blood for 5 seconds. Unholy Virulent Plague damage increased by 15%. Not applied to PvP combat. Epidemic damage increased by 12%. Festering Strike damage increased by 20%. Festering Wound damage increased by 12%. Not applied to PvP combat. Ghoul Sweeping Claws damage increased by 15%. Demon Hunter Havoc Fel Rush damage reduced by 12%. Immolation Aura damage reduced by 12%. Fel Barrage damage reduced by 12%. Fixed an issue when talented into A Fire Inside that caused any cast of Immolation Aura beyond the first to not enforce its intended global cooldown. Druid Restoration Ferocious Bite damage decreased by 20%. Not applied to PvP combat. Rip damage decreased by 15%. Not applied to PvP combat. Rake damage decreased by 10%. Shred damage decreased by 10%. Evoker Devastation All damage spells increased by 5%. Regenerative Magic increases Leech by 5% (was 3%). Draconic Legacy increases Stamina by 8% (was 6%). Hunter Beast Mastery Fixed an issue where Blessing of Autumn did not properly affect the cooldown of Call of the Wild. Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope 4-piece set bonus: Dire Beast’s Kill Command damage reduced by 30%. Beast Cleave gained by Dire Beast effectiveness reduced by 30%. Marksmanship Fixed an issue where the Windrunner’s Guidance buffs would fall off when exiting combat. Monk Mistweaver Mana Tea now reduces the mana cost of spells by 25% (was 50%). Upwelling can now stack up to 15 times (was 18). Essence Font healing decreased by 10%. Invigorating Mist healing decreased by 10%. Calming Coalescence now increases the absorb amount of Life Cocoon by 2% per stack (was 3%). Vivify primary healing increased by 5%. Ancient Concordance now increases the chance for Blackout Kick to reset Rising Sun Kick by 12% (was 10%). Windwalker All ability damage increased by 6%. Paladin Holy Crusader Strike now costs 0.6% base mana (was 1.6%) and deals 25% increased damage. Hammer of Wrath now costs 0.6% base mana (was 1%) and deals 20% increased damage. Priest Discipline All healing reduced by 3%. All damage reduced by 3%. Holy All healing increased by 4%. Burning Vehemence now causes Holy Fire to deal 75% of its initial damage to nearby enemies (was 60%). Amirdrassil 2-piece set bonus: Renews caused by Serenity now last 18 seconds (was 14 seconds) and Renews caused by Sanctify now last 6 seconds (was 5 seconds). Rogue Assassination Kingsbane damage reduced by 15%. Blindside effect chance reduced to 15% (was 20%) and 30% against low-health targets (was 40%). Shaman Resolved an issue causing Innervate to give a greater mana spent bonus to High Tide than intended. Restoration Healing Surge now costs 4.4% base mana (was 4.8%). Chain Lightning damage increased by 20%. Acid Rain damage increased by 10%. Items
      Imminence of Krag’wa’s Executor is now available for 450 Trader’s Tender (was 500). Developers’ notes: This was a pricing bug, and we’re working on a second hotfix that should refund 50 Tender to players who purchased the set before the price reduction. That refund will come as soon as possible this month. Player versus Player
      Death Knight Unholy Rotten Touch’s effectiveness reduced by 40% in PvP combat. Druid Restoration Amirdrassil 4 set bonus now casts Nourish at 50% effectiveness (was 100%) in PvP combat. Mastery: Harmony is now reduced by 15% in PvP combat. Hunter Marksmanship Survival of the Fittest now reduces damage taken by an additional 10% in PvP combat. Exhilaration now heals for 40% of max health (was 30%) in PvP combat. Monk Fixed an issue that caused Fortifying Brew’s damage reduction to be higher than intended in PvP combat. Mistweaver Amirdrassil 2 set bonus: Chi Harmony now increases healing received by 15% (was 25%) in PvP combat. Healing Elixir now heals for 10% of maximum health (was 20%) in PvP combat. Yu’lon’s Grace now creates an absorb for 1% of your maximum health (was 2%) in PvP combat. Dampen Harm’s minimum damage reduction is no longer increased in PvP combat (was 25%). Fortifying Brew’s damage reduction is no longer increased in PvP combat (was 30%). Diffuse Magic now reduces magic damage taken by 40% (was 60%). Priest Discipline Amirdrassil 4 set bonus: Now has a 100% chance to cast another Smite (was 50%) in PvP combat. Shaman Elemental Lava Burst damage from the the Amirdrassil 4-piece set bonus is now reduced by 60% in PvP combat (was 50%). Enhancement Thorim’s Invocation now increases Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning damage by 10% in PvP Combat (was 20%). Lava Lash damage is now increased by 25% in PvP combat (was 12%). Elemental Blast damage is now reduced by 6% in PvP combat (was 15%). Stormweaver now causes Chain Heal and Healing Surge to gain 150% of the benefits of Maelstrom Weapon based on the stacks consumed (was 100%). Restoration Amirdrassil 2 set bonus: Effectiveness no longer reduced in PvP combat (was reduced by 50%). Rogue Subtlety Shadow Blades extra Shadow damage reduced to 15% (base 20%) in PvP combat Thief’s Bargain (PvP Talent) cooldown reduction value reduced to 20% (was 33%) Warlock Demonology Fel Obelisk (PvP Talent) now increases attack and cast speed by 10% (was 20%). Master Summoner (PvP Talent) reduces the cast time of Call Dreadstalkers, Summon Vilefiend, and Summon Demonic Tyrant by 15% (was 20%). Antoran Armaments now increases your Felguards damage by 10% (was 20%) in PvP Combat. Doom Brand from the Amirdrassil 2-piece set bonus is now undispellable. The debuff duration reduction for Doom Brand from the Amirdrassil 2-piece set bonus is no longer reduced in PvP combat. Damage effects from the Amirdrassil 2-piece and 4-piece set bonus are now reduced by 40% in PvP combat (was 50%). Destruction Flame Rift damage from the Amirdrassil 4-piece set bonus is no longer reduced in PvP combat (was 50%). Warrior Fury Rampage now deals 40% additional damage in PvP combat (was 30%). Execute now deals 50% additional damage in PvP combat (was 40%). Crushing Blow no longer deals reduced damage in PvP combat (was 20%). Raging Blow deals 15% additional damage in PvP combat. Annihilator deals 15% additional damage in PvP combat.
    • By Staff
      Blizzard has adjusted the price of Imminence of Krag'wa's Executor to 450 Tender. Players who bought it will be refunded 50 Tender via a hotfix.
      Blizzard accidentally set the price of the Imminence of Krag'wa's Executor set to 500. They've released a hotfix that sets the price to 450 Tender. Another hotfix is coming for those who already bought it.
      (Source)
      We’ve had a trend of pricing Trading Post class sets at 450 Trader’s Tender, and for the first few days of December, a bug caused the Imminence of Krag’wa’s Executor set to sell for 500 Tender. We’ve now hotfixed the game to set that price at 450, as we originally intended.
      If you’ve already purchased the set, please hang tight. We’re working on a second hotfix that will refund you the extra 50 Tender. You don’t have to take any steps. That refund will come as soon as we can implement it this month.
      We apologize for the mix-up.
    • By Staff
      This is your last chance to get the Azure Worldchiller! The mount is going away on December 7!
      If you haven't obtained Azure Worldchiller yet, now's a good time to head to Tanaris and defeat Doombringer! The mount's going away on December 7.
      Visit your faction's portal room and take the portal to Caverns of Time. Here, you will find Doomwalker, a giant world boss walking near the entrance to the Caverns of Time. Use the Group Finder to search for a group and defeat him! Azure Worldchiller is a 100% drop. 

      You can also buy Illidari Doomhawk, last year's mount from Historian Ma'di for 5,000 Timewarped Badges.

    • By Staff
      We weren't quite done with the Covenant ability-turned-class-talent upgrades in patch 10.2.5! A recent PTR build added 5 more classes to the list as the visuals got elevated, and Opaldiia showcased them as well! The Monk's Faeline Stomp is looking pretty great in particular and Spear of Bastion finally getting some humane and non-blinding visuals.
      You can check out the previous updates here.
    • By Staff
      This week's bonus event quest rewards 1 piece of Heroic Amirdrassil loot!
      To accept the bonus event quest you can either go to Valdrakken and talk to Kazra or open the Adventure Journal (Shift +J) and accept it there.
      All you have to do is complete 4 Mythic dungeons on live servers to receive 1 item from Heroic Difficulty Amirdrassil with item levels ranging from 467-476.

×
×
  • Create New...