Warcraft loses 1.3 million subscribers over the last 3 months.

[pinotnoir]

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/world-warcraft-loses-1-3-million-players-three-233637952.html

I wonder how much the follow removal had to do with this rapid loss of subscriptions. I know 5 of those 1.3m were because of the removal. Oh well. I am happy because it finally got me playing Eve Online.

[JohnGabriel]

I sortof feel the follow fiasco was only indirectly responsible. Its been out for so long, people are just getting bored with it and moving on. Boxers have just spent more money on the game so its harder to leave, but we're moving on.

[Toonarmy]

Blizzard will need to double that number if Sam ever leaves.

Toonarmy

[Ualaa]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/11/08/world-of-warcraft-still-has-10-million-subscribers/

[pinotnoir]

1.3 Million is a lot to lose in 3 months. I think there is more to it than people getting tired of the game. When over 10% bail in such a short time it should indicate something. Especially when this coincides with the stealth follow patch. I can only hope the majority of them were boxers. I know I am dreaming but that would be cool. Even if they added follow back I would stay away. Eve Online is becoming really addictive and if setup I can pay with plex for my characters.

[Palee]

HELL YEAH!!! I'm so happy they lost so much. I hope they all die in a fire. That's what they deserve for screwing loyal customers.

[EaTCarbS]

HELL YEAH!!! I'm so happy they lost so much. I hope they all die in a fire. That's what they deserve for screwing loyal customers.

/snicker

Are people still mad about /follow being removed?

[Ualaa]

I'm not really angry about it.
They removed something I considered essential for my enjoyment of the game.
I quit their game as a result.

Pretty simple cause and effect.

Even if they were to bring it back, I won't be playing in Blizzard MMOs, directly because of how they have treated the boxing community.



That said, with Blizzard at 8.3 million subscribers... they're still the giant, in terms of subscriber base.
More than 18x ahead of the next biggest North American/European based game, in terms of subscription base.

I don't see Warcraft or Blizzard dying off anytime soon.

[Lyonheart]

I think the /follow thing put a nice big dent in the subs..



/snicker

Are people still mad about /follow being removed?

Your joking right? Of course they are still upset. If you do not care for PvP, or BGs to be more specific, then the /follow thing is not a big deal. Just think of it this way, how would you feel if they took /follow away from whatever game your playing? Now you might say somthing defensive like " I would just stop giving them my money, i wouldn't cry about it" But for anyone who LOVEs multiboxing, taking /follow away is very painful. So be a bit more sensitive to people who invested their hard earned money, time and emotions into a style of play ( boxing BGs in WoW ) they loved.

People will be upset about that nerf for years to come..even as the pain subsides and they have long since moved on. It was the biggest kick in the nuts, stab in the heart nerf Bliz has ever done that "effects" multiboxers. ( after publicly supporting the play style for years )

[zenga]

Something that I read nowhere, but that has a massive influence on that number tmho is the amount of banned accounts. If you head over to ban section of the big bot forum you will noticed that on a daily bases there are tons of threads that report bans. If you dig deeper you will find out that blizzard has implemented server side pattern recognizing technology that (can) detect(s) pretty much every bot.

Now if you think back how many players in every random bg would be botting, it's fairly safe to assume that a substantial amount of the playerbase was botting. The number of bots in random bg's has decreased massively. If you watch prices of farmed mats (herbs/ore) over the past 2 months, they have increased as well due to farm bots getting banned over and over.

There was a massive parallel business going on with unmerged accounts as well. Hacked accounts from years back were sold for cheap by dodgy sellers. A lot of those are getting banned as well.
The exploit where the same dodgy sellers would sell gametime for gold by abusing RAF got fixed as well (or at least they are very active with removing it).

Blizzard cleaning the house + the effect of marketing actions ending (Scroll of res that grants you a free lvl 80, ... etc) and being midway in the expansion, I think they are doing still fairly good.

[Lyonheart]

well 8 million subs..thats still good by any definition. Many MMOs are doing "good" with 100K subs and even less in some cases.

[Ñightsham]

That is some serious cash for blizzard, but they'll keep doing whatever it takes to try and stop the botting I suppose.
....on a side note......I purchased 4 Blizzcon tickets, resold them for a profit taking care of my 5 subs for 9months :)

Thanx Blizz

[EaTCarbS]

Your joking right? Of course they are still upset. If you do not care for PvP, or BGs to be more specific, then the /follow thing is not a big deal. Just think of it this way, how would you feel if they took /follow away from whatever game your playing?
I was playing WoW at the time, and had been for years. I haven't even done a heroic instance since WotLK, let alone any pve... so yes, the removal of follow was a 'kick in the pants.'

Now you might say somthing defensive like " I would just stop giving them my money, i wouldn't cry about it" But for anyone who LOVEs multiboxing, taking /follow away is very painful. So be a bit more sensitive to people who invested their hard earned money, time and emotions into a style of play ( boxing BGs in WoW ) they loved. People will be upset about that nerf for years to come..even as the pain subsides and they have long since moved on. It was the biggest kick in the nuts, stab in the heart nerf Bliz has ever done that "effects" multiboxers. ( after publicly supporting the play style for years )
That is exactly what I say. I'm not going to get worked up over a change at helped the game overall just because it is an inconvenience to our niche play-style. Blizzard has NEVER EVER done anything to support us. They allowed us to do what we do because it would be illogical not to do so. Every change they made to the game that helped us was not put in for us. The game was designed in a way that was very easy to multibox, and more of these features have been removed than added. I wouldn't be surprised if many ninja nerfs to the game are not directly related to their use by multiboxers (click ,,,,,, macros come to mind.)

If you're so emotionally invested into a video game that you froth at the mouth when something like the removal of the follow command happens, then you need to step away from the keyboard and evaluate what really matters to you.

In the end, I am quite satisfied that Blizzard has done what it has. While they may not have my money anymore, they are taking steps to improve the gaming experience for 99% of its player base.

[thefunk]

I was playing WoW at the time, and had been for years. I haven't even done a heroic instance since WotLK, let alone any pve... so yes, the removal of follow was a 'kick in the pants.'

That is exactly what I say. I'm not going to get worked up over a change at helped the game overall just because it is an inconvenience to our niche play-style. Blizzard has NEVER EVER done anything to support us. They allowed us to do what we do because it would be illogical not to do so. Every change they made to the game that helped us was not put in for us. The game was designed in a way that was very easy to multibox, and more of these features have been removed than added. I wouldn't be surprised if many ninja nerfs to the game are not directly related to their use by multiboxers (click ,,,,,, macros come to mind.)

If you're so emotionally invested into a video game that you froth at the mouth when something like the removal of the follow command happens, then you need to step away from the keyboard and evaluate what really matters to you.

In the end, I am quite satisfied that Blizzard has done what it has. While they may not have my money anymore, they are taking steps to improve the gaming experience for 99% of its player base.

Completely agree. Blizz multiple times have been quoted as saying'tolerated' but never supported. In any case there are manu more games you can mb as proved by this community so why so upset? Ultimately you're just chasing for the mext big thing, the ultimate potential, the big shiny pixel that will make the game better. Its kinda a reflection on current society. Theres a brilliant book out called "the age of absurdity", definitely worth a read.

[Sam DeathWalker]

More than 18x ahead of the next biggest North American/European based game, in terms of subscription base.

Not much more to be said.

[Multibocks]

Won't get another dime from me! :P

[Palee]

You think I'm still "upset" about the /follow removal in BGs? You have no idea... I'm not upset, I'm outraged and angry! And I will be for a very long time. I've put so much time and money into multiboxing BGs that it's the only part of the game I really enjoy. After the follow removal I tried going solo for a bit in a BG and it's pathetic. Trying to get a bunch of random people to get organized is impossible and nerve wrecking. While boxing I was actually able to make a difference, I could inspire and lead people into battle or doing something else than the same old shit. People in random BGs are like robots, follow the same pattern game after game. Boxing made me feel empowered, like I actually mattered. After, when I tried going solo in BGs, do you know how I felt? I felt like I was powerless, unable to do anything but to stare at the idiocy that defines random BGs.

Imagine if Blizzard removed queing as a group from BGs. How would all the people who like to play together feel? That's what they did to us. They removed our ability to queue together with our clones. If I had the energy and time to put into actually developing meaningful relationships with people in WoW and then queue with them together and work as a team, then losing multiboxing in BGs wouldn't be a big deal at all. Because that's what matters to me, to feel that I can actually make a difference, that I can work as a team. Working as a team is the only way to achieve anything significant. A leader can't achieve anything without a team that follows and works as one.

But as outraged and angry I am, I understand Blizzard's decision and I would have done the same thing if I was in their shoes. The reason they did this to us is because they realized that a multiboxer will always be perceived by the masses differently than an organized group of people who choose to work together. What Blizzard realized is that when a human being who drives a single character is faced with another SINGLE human being who drives 5 or 10 characters, that person will not think as if "oh it's my character against 10 different characters so obviously I can't win". No, they don't think like that. We humans are very competitive by nature, when we see our neighbor having a bigger house we want a bigger house, regardless if our neighbor has just a wife, or a wife and 5 kids. So in WoW, people see the human behind those 5-10 characters, and they compare themselves with the human behind them. They identify themselves with their character, just like we identify ourselves with our multi-characters. So in their mind is one human versus one human, not one char vs 10 chars. And they hate us for it, just like you would hate your neighbor for having a 5 million dollar house thinking he's "hacking" or "cheating" the system somehow in order to get all that money. And it's a normal emotion to have, that's how humans evolved to where they are today, by being extremely competitive, by always wanting more and by eliminating their competition.

So this decision that Blizzard made was based on human psychology, they know how people feel about us, this is not about bots or whatever. They know people can deal with bots as long as they are not completely taking over the game, but people CANNOT deal with another human being completely overpowering them. They feel it's cheating, hacking, botting, and whatever other term you can come up with. And I completely understand, when I drive 10 chars and I go against another boxer with 40 chars, I would definitely feel like I would want to smash his face inside his monitor for "cheating" and "being a loser who wastes so much money on a video game" and whatever other reason to make me feel better about myself, to make me feel like I'm powerful, and not completely and utterly powerless. One vs one, they will blame the gear difference but they won't feel so bad because they know they can also get that gear and eventually compete on equal footing, but against us, they feel powerless, there's absolutely nothing they can do about it, even if they are in full current season gear. And that leads to subs being cancelled.

Even though I understand Blizzard's decision, I'm still angry and I hate them for it. We all have 2 sides, the rational and the emotional. Well, my emotional side completely hates Blizzard and will do so for a very long time. They made me feel powerless in BGs. Now my only choice to feel powerful is to actually make friends and then try to have the same schedule with them and get on vent and deal with people quitting after one loss and so on. I don't have time for this shit. I actually have a real life where I have to do all these things at my job. To make an analogy, after a stressful day, boxing BGs was like watching an action movie, now after a stressful day, going solo in BGs would be like watching soap opera with feelings and friends.

All I wanted to do was to log on, blow shit up, log off. The rush I used to have when wiping an entire army of people in AV or IoC can never be replaced by anything.

F.U. Blizzard for taking that away from me.

[zenga]

Boxing made me feel empowered, like I actually mattered. After, when I tried going solo in BGs, do you know how I felt? I felt like I was powerless, unable to do anything but to stare at the idiocy that defines random BGs.
...
Now my only choice to feel powerful is to actually make friends and then try to have the same schedule with them and get on vent and deal with people quitting after one loss and so on. I don't have time for this shit. I actually have a real life where I have to do all these things at my job.

The alternative that you have is to become good with a particular class/spec and make a difference that way. I play 11 classes and more than 20 specs, solo. And 4 of them I master enough to make a difference, provided I have equal gear. My win/loss ratio is significantly higher on those toons as well. On the other specs I have a feeling that I still contribute, but can't make a difference, and thus do not feel that sense of power.

I'm not talking about gladiator viable, I'm talking about carrying a random bg team and make the difference (i.e. relative to the skillcap in random bgs).

What blizzard did was taking away your I-win button to a certain extend. Some players are still able to be successful in random bg's, after the removal of /follow, while still respecting the ToS. The reality is though (from why experience with other multiboxers), that they don't exceed the average skill/knowledge of the average random bg player. And multiboxing in my opinion has always been about the principle that once you master 1 toon, you take on the challenge to gain control of multiple toons. Not the other way around where numbers/ 1 I win button compensates for the lack of skill/knowledge. This is based on my experience with the multiboxers I have met, which not necessarily means this is true for the whole spectrum.

[valkry]

/snicker

Are people still mad about /follow being removed?
Yes

[valkry]

Not much more to be said.

Sorry for double post, but there are a few games with a bigger subscriber base than WoW, just not MMOs...

I think last I heard LoL was at 35mil active players, just recently peaking at 12mil simultaneous players, and although it is free, you ask any "more than casual" player how much they have spent on skins haha

[Shania]

If you're so emotionally invested into a video game that you froth at the mouth when something like the removal of the follow command happens, then you need to step away from the keyboard and evaluate what really matters to you.

Thats something you would normally find on Wow forums and I disagree with that statement completely.

PC Game, like WoW and how the 'game' is designed and on going of the game for yrs and yrs to alot of people is a 'hobby' only difference is, its done from online, not where you go to a club or what not to participate in your hobby.

People invest in collecting cards, collectables, pet store, etc. Just because it is a pc game, does not mean, people have not put their time into it and attatched to what it is they were doing on their accounts that become personal, it is no different to a real life away from PC Hobby.

SO to say what you did is very off track and something one would expect from a 12 yr old. I play a tonne, have for yrs and yrs and put ALOT of real life money into the game, not just by the acounts I pay for and well over few grand in server trasnfers, guild transfers, but also by pet store, cards, loot cards from blizz store one transaction was over 1 grand once and so on.

To me wow is a game but it is also my hobby and I care about changes, I was not a massive pvper, like some who were amazing at what they did boxing pvp as they did, but I did too at times and pve, now I am more solo playing though use other accounts for RF and mostly AH

and to say people need too step away from the keyboard and 'evaluate what matters to them' is totally farken idiotic of course to some people its going to MATTER to them, the /follow changes caused when game to them was a hobby.

Really grow up with such stupid comments

[Khatovar]

SO to say what you did is very off track and something one would expect from a 12 yr old.

and to say people need too step away from the keyboard and 'evaluate what matters to them' is totally farken idiotic of course to some people its going to MATTER to them, the /follow changes caused when game to them was a hobby.

Really grow up with such stupid comments


Really? I don't see anything "12 yr old" about EaTCarbS' comments. As a matter of fact, I couldn't agree with EaTCarbS more. As I've said elsewhere, it's like watching people stalk an ex just to make sure they are suffering. It's one thing to be annoyed or pissed about the change, it's another to go off on a bloody freaking rage or wishing painful deaths on people over it more than 2 months after the fact. Seriously, some of these reactions are actually kinda scary.

Blizzard removed Follow. It sucks, just like every single multiboxing-related change has sucked. Used to be a time multiboxers adapted and some people have, moving to arena where follow still works, or world PvP, even PvE. Some people changed their comps to use melee for IWT or druids for IWT on travel form. If you wanted to make it work, there's ways to make it work.

If you don't want to make it work, there's other fish in the sea. I just don't see any reason to react like Blizzard's removal of follow in BGs is some weird betrayal on par with cheating on you with your mom and your best friend while drowning your puppies and then posting videos of it on youtube.

[TRoN]

Imo, this exodus has nothing to do with the follow thing. But the game is getting old... and when games gat old people don't like changes. People don't wan't more changes. Blizzard is still marketing WoW like it's fresh - another expansion, it gets fresh again - and that's not the reality. As someone said in this thread people are bored of WOW and there are some new (truely fresh) games appearing and people just moved on.

I really think WoW will never die but they must stop pretending it's a new title with fresh content because it's not. And let people play for free because they already had more than enough.

You certainly know there are still lots of servers where you can play vintage games (I have a friend that still plays Action Quake with regular clan battles). If those titles were permanently changed every six month due economic strategies or whatever, there would be noone still playing those games. Fans for life, the real fans, don't like changes. You don't change what's became history, you should not change things from the past! WoW will be played when it reaches this state. Until then, people will keep leaving and Blizzard will milk the cow up to the last drop.

One thing I noticed. Since the follow thing, I feel like I'm the only one (plus a few others) multiboxing WoW right now. I'm getting old too... LOL :P

[luxlunae]

Imo, this exodus has nothing to do with the follow thing. But the game is getting old... and when games gat old people don't like changes. People don't wan't more changes. Blizzard is still marketing WoW like it's fresh - another expansion, it gets fresh again - and that's not the reality. As someone said in this thread people are bored of WOW and there are some new (truely fresh) games appearing and people just moved on.

I really think WoW will never die but they must stop pretending it's a new title with fresh content because it's not. And let people play for free because they already had more than enough.

You certainly know there are still lots of servers where you can play vintage games (I have a friend that still plays Action Quake with regular clan battles). If those titles were permanently changed every six month due economic strategies or whatever, there would be noone still playing those games. Fans for life, the real fans, don't like changes. You don't change what's became history, you should not change things from the past! WoW will be played when it reaches this state. Until then, people will keep leaving and Blizzard will milk the cow up to the last drop.

One thing I noticed. Since the follow thing, I feel like I'm the only one (plus a few others) multiboxing WoW right now. I'm getting old too... LOL :P

For all people complained about dual lockouts and being able to binge grind your way to the badge gear, I think taking away those two things killed the fun that I got out of wow. With dual lockouts, people pugged lots of things all the time, and you (me anyway) really stayed in touch with your server and the community. LFR is so much easier than actually putting together a group, that everyone just does that instead, but its ultimately a much less satisfying experience and not one that keeps you coming back week after week.

[Palee]

Really? I don't see anything "12 yr old" about EaTCarbS' comments. As a matter of fact, I couldn't agree with EaTCarbS more. As I've said elsewhere, it's like watching people stalk an ex just to make sure they are suffering. It's one thing to be annoyed or pissed about the change, it's another to go off on a bloody freaking rage or wishing painful deaths on people over it more than 2 months after the fact. Seriously, some of these reactions are actually kinda scary.

Blizzard removed Follow. It sucks, just like every single multiboxing-related change has sucked. Used to be a time multiboxers adapted and some people have, moving to arena where follow still works, or world PvP, even PvE. Some people changed their comps to use melee for IWT or druids for IWT on travel form. If you wanted to make it work, there's ways to make it work.

If you don't want to make it work, there's other fish in the sea. I just don't see any reason to react like Blizzard's removal of follow in BGs is some weird betrayal on par with cheating on you with your mom and your best friend while drowning your puppies and then posting videos of it on youtube.

Pull your head out of your ass and let people feel whatever they want to feel. Nobody is stalking any ex here, stop making stupid analogies. People care about their hobbies, end of story. Stop judging people with your very small mind.


Imo, this exodus has nothing to do with the follow thing. But the game is getting old... and when games gat old people don't like changes. People don't wan't more changes. Blizzard is still marketing WoW like it's fresh - another expansion, it gets fresh again - and that's not the reality. As someone said in this thread people are bored of WOW and there are some new (truely fresh) games appearing and people just moved on.

I really think WoW will never die but they must stop pretending it's a new title with fresh content because it's not. And let people play for free because they already had more than enough.

You certainly know there are still lots of servers where you can play vintage games (I have a friend that still plays Action Quake with regular clan battles). If those titles were permanently changed every six month due economic strategies or whatever, there would be noone still playing those games. Fans for life, the real fans, don't like changes. You don't change what's became history, you should not change things from the past! WoW will be played when it reaches this state. Until then, people will keep leaving and Blizzard will milk the cow up to the last drop.

One thing I noticed. Since the follow thing, I feel like I'm the only one (plus a few others) multiboxing WoW right now. I'm getting old too... LOL :P

My hope is that WoW keeps losing over 1 mill subs per quarter and eventually go free to play. I know it's a very long shot but who knows. Then I can 40 box of whatever my PC can handle :)

[Mickthathick]

The irony about the removal of /slash follow is that bgs are still full of bots. I have been leveling a sexy mage (81) from level 10 through bgs and the new bracket I am in is absolutely ruined by bots. WSG match last night, 7 bots on my team. IOC- at least 1/2 the team were bots. So damn frustrating, and it's impossible to report them easily especially when there are so many.

Also a friend of mine bots 3 accounts for himself (leveling alts, farming mats for profession cds) and while they are botting smarter he is definitely still botting. Seems the people who are being caught have either been reported by other players or are botting 24/7.

[Tin]

If Blizz want to hit booting very hard - they just need to remove "clik to move" not just follow from the game

[Mickthathick]

If Blizz want to hit booting very hard - they just need to remove "clik to move" not just follow from the game

This would break the main bot program instantly with little to no chance of it returning.

I'm curious, does anyone here use click to move, for either your master toon or your slaves? I have never used it, I keyboard or middle mouse to go forward and right click to turn. I struggled with D3 for ages due to the click-to-move system.

[Khatovar]

Pull your head out of your ass and let people feel whatever they want to feel. Nobody is stalking any ex here, stop making stupid analogies. People care about their hobbies, end of story. Stop judging people with your very small mind.

Did you miss the section in the rules where there's a no tolerance policy (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/49138-Dual-Boxing-com-Community-Rules-Read-Before-Posting) for attacking members of this community? Just because someone disagrees with you {or someone else} doesn't give you the right to attack them on a personal level.

[sparvath]

Really too bad. I really like MoP expansion as PVE. Love to take my team into an area and nuke the whole thing down and move on like a swarm of locusts. I agree its a bad thing that they removed /follow in PVP and I doubt it has decreased bots very much.

[Feehza]

If Blizz want to hit booting very hard - they just need to remove "clik to move" not just follow from the game


Removing CTM would not have an impact on the bots.

[Fat Tire]

I believe its no coincidence that the follow change came quickly after Holinka(the new pvp dev) arrived at bliz. If you have read his tweets on the subject you would see that there is no love lost regarding boxing in bgs. Its easy for me to believe that it was sold to the other devs as a way to combat botting while also accomplishing whatever personal grievances he and probably a couple of others at blizzard had.

/tinfoil

[moog]

Even if they allow it, who would risk MBing the next Blizzard MMO, knowing they can pull the carpet out from under you at the drop of a hat!
Really staggeringly piss-poor customer service from Blizztard!

[Palee]

Did you miss the section in the rules where there's a no tolerance policy (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/49138-Dual-Boxing-com-Community-Rules-Read-Before-Posting) for attacking members of this community? Just because someone disagrees with you {or someone else} doesn't give you the right to attack them on a personal level.

I may have sounded a little harsh, without really meaning it, so I apologize. When you make analogies about people here, you are directly attacking them. Basically you're comparing us with people who stalk their exes and wish them dead. That's a much more disturbing attack on your part than what I said. My message still stands: stop judging people. Everyone has the right to feel as upset as they want about anything they want.

[Palee]

I believe its no coincidence that the follow change came quickly after Holinka(the new pvp dev) arrived at bliz. If you have read his tweets on the subject you would see that there is no love lost regarding boxing in bgs. Its easy for me to believe that it was sold to the other devs as a way to combat botting while also accomplishing whatever personal grievances he and probably a couple of others at blizzard had.

/tinfoil

If this is true, then I'm concerned about the way Blizzard makes decisions. If even after the /follow removal botting is still strong in BGs, it means their decision was emotional like you said, not a real business decision.

[candlebox]

I want to take a big fat poo on the CEOs chest. That's how i feel. 10s of thousands of dollars in this game.

I told you guys it was coming. You can only be a dick to people for so long before they quit, or blizzard has to step in and defend the other 92% of the population.

[EaTCarbS]

Even if they allow it, who would risk MBing the next Blizzard MMO, knowing they can pull the carpet out from under you at the drop of a hat!

You can replace 'Blizzard' with any other MMO out there, and the statement would still make sense.

[Ualaa]

While it could be removed from any of them... Blizzard has set the precedent that they will pretend to like boxers by defending that style of play for years, and then without warning remove an essential tool for boxing.

So it could happen anywhere, but it has happened with Blizzard.
An unknown chance of what might happen with another company, against one who has already taken the action in Warcraft.

[Tonuss]

This would break the main bot program instantly with little to no chance of it returning.

I'm curious, does anyone here use click to move, for either your master toon or your slaves? I have never used it, I keyboard or middle mouse to go forward and right click to turn. I struggled with D3 for ages due to the click-to-move system.

If I am not mistaken, melee teams rely on CTM to stick with a moving target.

[Multibocks]

I think they meant for bots. That removing CTM would have an impact on the bot population, but most likely it won't. However CTM was put in for handicapped people and I doubt they would remove it now. Imagine the public bashing they would take.

[Ualaa]

Handicapped players are likely a very small minority of the player base.

Look at the posts by the few blind players, who were using follow (in conjunction with specific sound effects and teamspeak/ventrilo) to do battlegrounds with their guild mates.
There were a couple of stories like that, on the Blizzard forums following the removal of follow.
Definitely also a minority case.

But follow was removed, despite the negative press received and the impact upon the minority.

If Blizzard decides the IWT/CTM combo is helping bots/boxers/whatever-their-target-is and that its removal would be beneficial to the majority, they're not going to care that it was a feature put in to help a very small minority have an easier time with their game.
Their track record proves that.

[Mickthathick]

+1 Ualaa

The amount of people who need CTM to play due to health/mobility reasons would have to be a tiny tiny minority and one easily waved off by Blizzard PR as a causality in the war against bots.

[TRoN]

Removing IWT/CTM is a major mistake! Lots of players use it when playing solo and would be against that decision, the few multiboxers still around will definitly quit WOW and bots will keep growing...

[EaTCarbS]

Removing IWT/CTM is a major mistake! Lots of players use it when playing solo and would be against that decision, the few multiboxers still around will definitly quit WOW and bots will keep growing...

Thats what happens when you create a game that greatly rewards/requires mindlessly doing the same menial tasks over and over again ^.^

[ebony]

Removing IWT/CTM is a major mistake! Lots of players use it when playing solo and would be against that decision, the few multiboxers still around will definitly quit WOW and bots will keep growing...

who what where and when is iwt/ctm being removed? this has not been removed as far as i know in any patch as i been checking on the ptr. and as far as am told there is no plans to remove this.

[JohnGabriel]

Companies (not saying Blizzard in particular) make such a big deal about features for the handicap. I think there was even a news program about a guy playing WoW with one of those tubes you blow into to move the mouse around. They have their press releases, gather all the good publicity and take all the praise from the public.

But they never really lose that praise when they get rid of those features the handicap use. I would say luckily it also effected boxers so caused a bit more noise in the forums and maybe they lost a bit of that praise they stole.

I am handicapped myself (deaf) and most of you probably will never understand, but that's OK, its our cross to bear not yours. I have never had problems with WoW but once I had to contact a small indie game to try and get them to add visual cues when certain audio events are fired that were necessary for game play. It was very very quickly added to the game and they worked really hard to help, but I have a big sinking feeling that I wouldn't be able to get that level of help from Blizzard.

[Fat Tire]

who what where and when is iwt/ctm being removed? this has not been removed as far as i know in any patch as i been checking on the ptr. and as far as am told there is no plans to remove this.

Same thing when follow got removed


Can anyone confirm iwt/ctm. I cant check since my accounts ran out a number of days ago.

[Khatovar]

No one has said they are removing or have removed CTM/IWT. Tin said they should remove it to kill bots and it snowballed from there.

[ebony]

No one has said they are removing or have removed CTM/IWT. Tin said they should remove it to kill bots and it snowballed from there.

i was going to say as am using it fine :D

[SaraiE]

As of June 10th 2013, I would have saved $75X3. Wife and family a bit happier too!

1.3 million unsubscribed, wow! I am happy to be part of that number.

SaraiE

[Asterix]

... I want to go somewhere over there...somewhere...just...move ... <3 CTM

*g*