Quote Originally Posted by TRoN View Post
Don't underestimate the commercial value of the multiboxing community that have active accounts. Blizzard don't really want to mess with us. They just want to make a two-head politic that suits the majority of players but don't warm multiboxers too much.

Just as an example of a single player - me:

I have an active subscrition since the release date (2005) and I began multiboxing 5 toons on WotLK (2008). So lets put it in numbers:

Subs:

((2013-2005) * 12 + 4 * (2013-2008) * 12) * 12€ = 4032€

Boxes:

1 set of collectors edition (vanilla to MOP) + 4 normal (bchest + WotLK + Cata + MOP) + 2 innactive accounts (vanilla + TBC) + 5 BattleChests I bought last week to RAF another batch of toons (sic!!) = roughly 1200€

11 transfers: 220€

TOTAL: Around 5500€

I think most multiboxers are driving (or they will sooner or later) 5 toon teams. So if we were just 100 (because I think we are some more), that means a potentially income equal to 500 normal players.

Any company, even a big one like Blizzard, will not waste 500 clients mostly because this mean a mountly income. So the real deal is those '500 players' * many time * cost of subscritions and/or services they pay.

I'm sure Blizzard will not harm multiboxers as long we stay cool and behave according to the rules without 'crossing the line' (imho, some of us, regarding PvP, are stepping that line and this measure is consequence of that).

He have to agree that removing /follow on BG/arena are very welcome to the majority of the community and, even most of the modern bots don't use follow, it can help to stop or minimize the plague. For instance, botters cannot state 'Hey, you're wrong! I'm not a botter, I'm a multiboxer'.

Tbh, I think they didn't thought about /follow beeing a essencial feature to us. Someone, in the morning briefing, may have thrown on the table his big idea to stop botting:

"hey and if we remove /follow in BGs and arenas?"
"hell yeaah!!"
"brilliant!"
"mmm, do the bots follow?"
"sure, I remember to have seen a bunch following the same char"
"yea, this time we've got them"
"and the community will rejoice"
"to work, then. let it happens right on the patch"
"but the patch notes were already announced"
"that will be a surprise"
"yeah, and then we can write in the forums: aren't you thankful?"
"hehe..."

TL;DR: 1. Multiboxers are important to Blizzard because in this type of business (subscrition based + extra services) a few thousend accounts means good money. 2. Assumption that some Blizzard decisions are taken without serious ponderation. 3. Removing follow in BG/Arena was not aimed to us. Maybe they didn't even know it was so crucial.
Don't underestimate the >$120,000,000 they make from subs overall, nearly all of which does not come from us.

I'm sure Blizzard did some serious "ponderation" before making any change that would affect subscriptions. You know, like analysts with spreadsheets and meetings and the like. They calculated it and it made sense. They won't be losing much.