Posted by Chris Scott Barr on Mar 7, 2012

WoW is considered the giant that cannot fall. I can’t even count the number of MMO’s that have been touted as the “WoW killer”. Thus far, none have come anywhere close. The Old Republic has probably shown the most promise, though it still has a long way to go. What’s interesting is that Blizzard has made several moves which tell us that the company fears the future of their giant.

Late last year the company started offering a free copy of Diablo III to those who purchase a full year’s subscription to World of Warcraft. This came after the company reported a huge drop in subscriptions. And now they’re bringing back the Scroll of Resurrection, which is like a free pass for the lazy.

If you haven’t logged into your WoW account, and you’re worried about all the grinding you’ll need to do to catch up to your friends, have no fear, you’ll be able to jump straight to level 80. Just have one of your buddies use the Scroll of Resurrection, and you’ll get one character boosted to 80, a free upgrade to Cataclysm, and the opportunity to move your character to a new realm and faction. You won’t even need to pay for your subscription, as you’ll get 7 free days to get you started. Finally, if mounts are your thing, both you and your friend will receive a Spectral Wind Rider or Spectral Gryphon.

For people that have been out of the game for a while, this looks like a mighty tempting offer. Hell, I haven’t played in more than two years, and part of me wants to use this, just for all of the free shit. Then I remember how long I’ve been sober, and how I really don’t want to travel down that dark road again. Sorry Blizzard, you can throw free levels, mounts and more at your players, but at the end of the day, WoW is still WoW. This might bring some players back for a short time, but it will take a lot more than this to start gaining back subscribers in any real amount.

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